From Truthout.org

November 28, 2006 | Henry Benton paints a wooden cross at a roadside memorial in Lafayette, California, honoring military troops who have died in Iraq. The Lafayette City Council is deciding whether it will force removal of the memorial's 400-plus wooden crosses and a sign that says "In Memory of 2,867 US Troops Killed in Iraq," a statement that has offended residents who see the display as unpatriotic.
(Photo: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)


And I wonder... If a soldier is considered patriotic for giving his/her life in service of our military, why is it unpatriotic and offensive to honor that life and bring the memory of it out to the light of day?

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When we were turned away at Buckley and Peterson Air Force Bases, we took the food to the Denver Rescue Mission.

I will always remember this experience. The nuns, Mike, everyone, had such grace, generosity, and love.

From the Rocky Mountain News:

Air Force rejects nuns' donations

By Sara Burnett, Rocky Mountain News
November 28, 2006

Three nuns at odds with the government over a restitution order delivered three truckloads of food to the Denver Rescue Mission and a Colorado Springs food bank today after being turned away from Buckley and Peterson Air Force bases.

The sisters were hoping the food would fulfill a court-ordered requirement that they pay $3,052 for damaging a fence during a 2002 protest at a Weld County missile silo. They say paying cash would violate their beliefs in non-violence because it would go to the military. So instead they came up with an idea to donate food to military families.

But a Buckley spokeswoman said the base could not accept donations without "appropriate prior coordination" because of security concerns. Peterson officials gave a similar explanation.

Carol Gilbert, Ardeth Platte and Jackie Hudson, all members of the Dominican Sisters order who served between 30 and 41 months in prison for destroying government property, insisted they were not disappointed by the Air Force decision.

"The food will go to hungry people, and we know the shelters are filled with veterans," Gilbert said.

But the nuns' supporters were less gracious.

"I think the whole deal stunk," said Bill Strabala of Arvada, who was among about a dozen people who joined the sisters in delivering the food to Buckley.

Vrnda Noel, whose son is on active duty with the 10th Mountain Division, called the action "unconscionable."

"They're taking food out of (military families') mouths," Noel said.

Two veterans working with the nuns said they had discussed donating the food with sergeants at the two bases, and that they were led to believe the food was needed and would be accepted.

But Mike Collins, a disabled Army veteran, didn't get past the main gate at Buckley. And Bill Sulzman, who had coordinated the delivery to Peterson Air Force base, said a sergeant there contacted him about 20 minutes before he was scheduled to arrive and told him the base couldn't accept the food.

"Overall, we appreciate donations and the public's concern for the families of our Airmen, Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen," Buckley officials said in a statement. But they also noted there is still a question of whether the food would satisfy the restitution order.

That decision will be left to U.S. District Court Judge Robert E. Blackburn.

Meantime, the house manager at the Denver Rescue Mission said the organization was thrilled with the donations, which included cases of baby formula, soup, peanut butter and baby food.

The mission will distribute the food through its Christmas food boxes. It expects to hand out more than 1,500 boxes this year, Jim Coelho said.

"They're going to bless a lot of people."

Copyright 2006, Rocky Mountain News. All Rights Reserved.

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Press Release from Buckley AFB regarding the donation of food items for the military families who rely on food stamps and food banks to supplement their needs. "Because of security concerns, we at Buckley Air Force Base are not able to accept donations to the base without appropriate prior coordination. Overall, we appreciate donations and the public's concern for our Airmen, Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen. However, whether food donations can be used as restitution in a criminal case is a matter pending before the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado."

Today the nuns tried to deliver two trucks of food to Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora, CO and one truckload to Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, CO. Conversations between disabled vets and Buckley AFB led the nuns to believe that the food would be accepted. Once we got to Buckley, we were turned back due to lack of space to store the food and an unwillingness of officers at the base to get involved in the restitution case.

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Today we deliver the food that was donated as payment of restitution for the nuns. It is going to Buckley Air Force base to help out families of our military that are on food stamps or need help making it from paycheck to paycheck. Don't ask me how that can happen to families of people who risk their lives for our country...

Also, I just read that the HOA of the Loma Linda subdivision in Pagosa Springs has withdrawn their $25/day fine for the people who had a wreath in a peace symbol displayed on their home. I am touched by all of the support that these people got for their right to have such a wreath on their own home.

"We would like to thank everyone who has contacted us with moral support and offers of financial support. We are grateful to hundreds of complete strangers who felt so moved by this story they contacted us. We received calls from people who called themselves grandmas, mothers, military families, veterans, devout Christians, agnostics, atheists, a Rabbi, veterans of various wars, people with children in Iraq," she [Jensen] said.

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Today, two of the fourteen protesters that were arrested outside of Crawford last Easter will be tried. They were charged with obstructing a street. But they weren't obstructing a street. They were in the grass, a few yards off of the road. One at a time, each of the fourteen would enter a tent and the sheriff would pull them out and arrest them. They were challenging the law that was made after the first Camp Casey in the summer of 2005 which stopped anyone from being able to stop alongside a road anywhere near W's "ranch" (see sign above - they are posted for miles around W's place).

ACLU Press Release


CRIMINAL TRIAL BEGINS MONDAY IN CRAWFORD PROTEST CASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Lisa Graybill, Legal Director
(512) 971-2927

November 25, 2006
WACO--The jury trial of two Iraq war protestors charged with obstructing a street near President Bush's Crawford ranch begins this Monday in Waco, Texas. Em Hardy, an Austin psychologist, and Hiram Myers, a retired attorney and veteran of the Korean War, were arrested along with twelve other protestors on April 14, 2006 as they sat peacefully inside a shade tent in a ditch adjoining Prairie Chapel Road, which leads to President Bush's Crawford Ranch about 4 miles away.

ACLU of Texas Cooperating Attorney David Broiles, who, along with his law partner Karin Cagle represents Myers and Hardy, stated, "Our clients were charged with this crime for no other reason than that they were exercising their First Amendment right to protest the war in Iraq."

The protesters were arrested at the scene of "Camp Casey I," which was established in August 2005 by Cindy Sheehan. Sheehan, whose son Casey was killed in Iraq on April 4, 2004, became a leading voice against the war after going to Crawford in the hopes of meeting with President Bush. She was joined by thousands of activists from across the country at Camp Casey I, including Daniel Ellsberg, author of the Pentagon Papers, and Ann Wright, a Colonel with the US Army Reserve and former Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Afghanistan, who resigned from the State Department in protest of the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Hardy and Myers were charged with violating Texas Penal Code § 42.03, which prohibits obstructing the street. It is undisputed that neither Hardy, nor Myers, nor any of the other protestors were obstructing the street or preventing the free flow of traffic; rather, they were sitting well away from the street. Lisa Graybill, Legal Director of the ACLU of Texas, noted, "Discriminatory enforcement of the law based on the viewpoint of the speaker is not permissible under the U.S. Constitution."

Jury selection in Myers' and Hardy's trial begins at 9 am Monday in McClennan County Criminal Court No. 2.


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Peace is the work of SATAN???

Subdivision Bans Christmas Wreath With Peace Sign

In a town in scenic southwestern Colorado homeowners are battling over whether a Christmas wreath that includes a peace sign is an anti-Iraq war protest or even a promotion of Satan.

"We have had three or four complaints. Some people have kids in Iraq and they are sensitive," said Bob Kearns, president of the Loma Lynda Homeowners Association in Pagosa Springs. He also said some believe it is a symbol of Satan.

Read the rest of the article here.

Check out this Bansky video at OneGoodMove.

Be sure to go to Banksy's website, also.

An artistic method to show us irony and stimulate thought.

My sister just graduated! Every year, I lose a sister and gain a new one. I connect with my adopted sisters through Women for Women International. Each woman is only allowed to be in the program for a year. I get attached to them. WFW asks sponsors to write to their sister every month, but I find it hard to do that. It's not hard to write - I love writing. But writing to someone that I have never met and know very little about is challenging.

Women for Women International is now sending a personal information sheet to introduce new sponsored sisters, and I just received the info on my newest sister. Both she and the last one are from Nigeria. I just read that my new sister can't read or write, lives with 27 others in her home, and has no electricity or source of water in her residence.

I'll remember THAT when I'm not feeling so good about my life.

It's a cruel, crazy, beautiful world.

A couple of days ago, a woman and I had a conversation about the nuns and their collection of canned goods as a way of paying off the restitution the government says they owe. I told this woman how obvious it is that these three nuns are living their faith. They have a deep, deep belief in working for social justice. This calling is in their cells.

The woman that I was talking with strongly stated that we should obey the law of the land, and that our faith should take life through prayer, through inner work.

Ummmm... the law of the land can be a very bad thing. Why would we blindly follow it?

This all leads me to the book that I have been reading - The Common Heart. It is a compilation of interviews edited by Netanel Miles-Yepez.

In 1984, Father Thomas Keating brought together spiritual teachers from various world religions. They met in Snowmass, Colorado to meditate together and share their spiritual journeys, especially the aspects of their religions that they found most helpful in their lives. These Snowmass Conferences have occurred now every year since, and have included such teachers as Pema Chodron, Grandfather Gerald Red Elk, and Rabbi Rami Shapiro, along with other Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, Jewish, and non-aligned teachers.

Over time, these teachers came up with a list called "The Points of Agreement" - eight points (plus four practical points) that they found were common to all religions. Some of these are:

1. The world religions bear witness to the experience of Ultimate Reality, to which they give various names.
2. Ultimate Reality cannot be limited by any name or concept.
6. Ultimate Reality may be experienced not only through religious practices, but also through nature, art, human relationships and service to others.

The participants were surprised by the commonalities of their various belief systems. AND they found that they bonded more deeply when they explored their disagreements, sharing frankly without trying to convince others of their position.

Reading this book, I am hopeful and inspired, because I can see that it is possible to work with others in acceptance, appreciation, respect and understanding.

I would find life boring if there were only one way to see the world. The many beliefs all living together make the colorful quilt of life.

My life's hope is that the seeds that have been planted at the Snowmass Conference will sprout throughout the world and a healing will begin. We will see an open-ness to the discovery of commonalities, a willingness to share differences with total honesty and acceptance, and an appreciation that we each have different work to be doing here.

"'Cause there's a million things to be, you know that there are"

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If you haven't seen it yet, Iraq: The Hidden War is worth your time. I sat here glued to the computer for the entire 48 minutes. Most of us spend more than 48 minutes a day paying attention to gay minister scandals, keeping up on Britney and K-fed, or blogging (me???).

Iraq: The Hidden War shows a little of what our media aren't allowed to show us.

If we all knew...

would we do anything differently???

My friend, BL, and I went down to the U.S. Attorney's office today to bring our food donation to the nuns. As I stood alongside these women, I could feel their power and love. I have such a deep respect for them. I was happy that my son showed up and got to meet three examples of people with a deep commitment and faith - people willing to put aside their comforts for the good of the whole.

All of the ABUNDANCE of food that has been donated will go to families of our military. Did you know that many military families are on FOOD STAMPS??? We have the $$$ to send our soldiers to war, the $$$ to bomb and occupy a nation, the $$$ to build enough missiles to destroy our planet, but not enough $$$ to take care of our military families.

For a couple of articles about military family's need for food assistance, click here or here.

Click here to see the 2007 pay rates for enlisted military personnel. They actually get a raise next year.

If you live in the Denver area, the film, Conviction, about the nun's experience will be shown this Sunday, the 26th at 6:00 at the Oriental Theater, 4335 W. 44th ($5 donation). The nuns will be there to answer questions.


P.S.
(Claire rocks. She makes things happen. Thanks, Claire!)

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Hijab is just a piece of material. It's a scarf. Scarves were the fashion once - I remember my mom wearing them in the 60's. She just tied it a little differently and took it off in the house.

Of course hijab makes a statement regarding one's religion. And it brings a sense of modesty. Some see it as aiding in a certain kind of freedom from being seen as a sexual object. Others see it as taking away freedom. It all depends on how you choose to look at it.

If a Muslim woman dresses modestly, besides a hijab, she will wear long sleeves (all year long), and her clothes will not be form-fitting. Being in a hot-flash time of life, I find the long sleeves to be challenging. HOW DO YOU GET AIR???

I identify tooooo much with my hair. I had a hard time having no hair showing. I LIKE hair.

I felt a little claustrophobic with the scarf around my face. I know that that is something I could get used to over time. Not too big of a deal.

On Sunday, when I wore the hijab, my friend and I went into a card store. We had a lot of fun reading the cards and listening to the 60's, 70's and 80's tunes on the musical cards. My friend was born and raised in the U.S. She is not of Middle Eastern descent. She converted to Islam decades ago. She knows American music - at least the old stuff (I don't know the new stuff, either). A man standing nearby joined in on our talk about the different music from the different eras. He had on a jacket that had the words "U.S. Army, Ft Carson" on the back.

Two women in hijab talkin' music of the 70's with a veteran. Ya just never know...

After my shopping trip, I feel hopeful, because the people that I saw demonstrated respect and friendliness. I also have a nagging worry that comes from the training that our soldiers receive which aids them in their ability to kill. I have deep concerns about the fear that our leadership tries to instill in us so that we will support them in their goals. I hope that we will educate ourselves and think for ourselves. After all, it all depends on how you choose to look at things.

I welcome input from people of the Muslim faith. Educate us! And I welcome input from non-Muslims on their feelings about hijab.

It's quite a dilemma when we have to figure out how to kill ONLY the people we want to kill and not others. Drew posted a link on his comment to my last post, but it didn't all show up, so I thought I would put it here.

From the article:

"In perhaps the most effective act of nonviolent protest in the six-year Palestinian uprising, hundreds of Gazans forced Israel over the weekend to call off airstrikes on the residence of a militant leader by swarming the house as human shields."

Yesterday, when we were shopping, my friend asked me what I thought about the soldiers who are being charged with rape and murder in Iraq. I told her that I couldn't figure out the difference between what they did and all of the other murders that we are doing there. I can't figure out why it is okay to kill some people, but not others. I can't figure out why we think that we are capable of making the decision about who is to live and who is to die.

So I applaud the people who are risking their lives to make human shields around the homes of targeted people in Gaza.

"But suppose God is black? What if we go to Heaven and we, all our lives, have treated the Negro as an inferior, and God is there, and we look up and He is not white? What then is our response?" -Robert F Kennedy, born on this day (I stole this from My Left Wing, with apologies, but I just couldn't help myself)

And I say, supposed that God is Muslim or Palestinian or Jewish or American or Iraqi or, or, or...

We are all sacred. Some of us don't know how to play well with others, but we just need time-out for that.

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I have been wanting to do this for a long time. I have to say that the build-up was much bigger than the actual experience, though.

Today I went shopping with a Muslim friend. She wears hijab. Today, I did, too. I don't know what is more shocking - the shopping (I DON'T DO shopping!) or the hijab.

If you are reading this and you are Muslim, please know that I did this out of total respect for your religion and out of a desire to know how hijab-wearing Muslim women are treated in the U.S.

I think that it will take many more times out on the town before I have a real picture of what it feels like to be a Muslim woman living here. I know for a fact that my friends have had some not-so-good experiences, especially since 9/11. I am sure that those experiences are not the norm.

But I had a great time at the mall today.

Leaving the house, I felt a little, um, OBVIOUS. I worried about what I would say if one of my neighbors saw me (how would I explain my sudden conversion?). Silly me!!! I live in suburbia. You never see a human outside in suburbia!

So, then, I thought that I would look out of the corner of my eye when stopped at stoplights in order to see if people in the cars around me were looking at me. (But why would people suddenly start looking at other people now that I have on hijab? Once we get in those metal cans on wheels, we are CARS, not PEOPLE).

Okay, SURELY at the busy mall, with bright lights, SURELY there, I'd get THE STARE.

no

Everyone was really nice. Maybe more nice than usual. I am normally the person who blends in with the crowd. I don't stand out. In fact, I am not usually comfortable standing out. Maybe I stood out a little more today and people responded to that.

Maybe most people are just...

There is something very wrong here.

While the three nuns are standing in front of the U.S. Attorney's office in Denver, trying to pay their restitution by collecting food for people who need it (instead of paying money to the federal government), the three men calling themselves the "Weapons of Mass Destruction Here Plowshares" were sentenced yesterday to jail terms for their actions this past June at a missile site in North Dakota.

I am sad that my government punishes those who work to stop suffering in the world. Marshall Rosenberg speaks about the "domination culture"that we live in where the few dominate the many. We see it in our punitive justice system and in our country's perceived need to have more WMD's than anyone else in the world.

According to an article on CommonDreams:

The Minuteman III missile has over 20 times the destructive power of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima and can reach a target within 6000 miles in 35 minutes.

At the sentencing, Father Carl Kabat, who has already spent 16 years in prison for peace protests, spoke simply and directly to the court and prosecutor. "I believe that you, brother judge and brother prosecutor, know that the Minuteman III at E-9 is insane, immoral and illegal, but your actions protected that insanity, that immorality and that illegality. Brother judge, you could have possibly been a Rosa Parks, but your actions said 'no.' We all can openly and publicly condemn North Korea for nuclear bombs. We can openly and publicly condemn Iraq for nuclear weapons and go to war with them. We can openly and publicly condemn Iran for nuclear buildup, but we do not publicly condemn the United States for the same?"

An excerpt from Alice Walker's new book, We Are the Ones We Have Been Waiting For: Inner Light in a Time of Darkness, as read by Alice on Democracy Now!:


“It is the worst of times. It is the best of times. Try as I might I cannot find a more appropriate opening to this volume: it helps tremendously that these words have been spoken before and, thanks to Charles Dickens, written at the beginning of A Tale of Two Cities. Perhaps they have been spoken, written, thought, an endless number of times throughout human history. It is the worst of times because it feels as though the very earth is being stolen from us, by us; the land and air poisoned, the water polluted, the animals disappeared, humans degraded and misguided. War is everywhere. It is the best of times because we have entered a period, if we can bring ourselves to pay attention, of great clarity as to cause and effect. A blessing when we consider how much suffering human beings have endured, in previous millennia, without a clue to its cause. Gods and Goddesses were no doubt created to fill this gap. Because we can now see into every crevice of the globe and because we are free to explore previously unexplored crevices in our own hearts and minds, it is inevitable that everything we have needed to comprehend in order to survive, everything that we have needed to understand in the most basic of ways, will be illuminated now. We have only to open our eyes, and awaken to our predicament. We see that we are, alas, a huge part of our problem. However: We live in a time of global enlightenment. This alone should make us shout for joy.”


Alice Walker has also authored The Color Purple, Now is the Time to Open Your Heart: A Novel, In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens, Possessing the Secret of Joy, and The Way Forward Is With a Broken Heart.

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My teacher, Buddha the dog, who moves the clouds away from my heart and teaches me the meaning of happiness. He found this holy, er, holey tree today while we were out walking.

Buddha is the only dog in the world that can do the "crab" - a difficult and daring dog trick. Maybe someday I will write about that.

This weekend, thousands of people from all over the country will be "guests" of the School of Americas (SOA) - a.k.a. Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC). Each year at this time, protesters gather at Ft. Benning, GA to speak out agains the SOA and U.S. foreign policy.

School of Americas is a combat training school for Latin American soldiers. Check out SOA Watch to read about some of the graduates of this school.

According to SOA Watch:

"Over its 59 years, the SOA has trained over 60,000 Latin American soldiers in counterinsurgency techniques, sniper training, commando and psychological warfare, military intelligence and interrogation tactics. These graduates have consistently used their skills to wage a war against their own people. Among those targeted by SOA graduates are educators, union organizers, religious workers, student leaders, and others who work for the rights of the poor. Hundreds of thousands of Latin Americans have been tortured, raped, assassinated, “disappeared,” massacred, and forced into refugee by those trained at the School of Assassins."

A big thank you to all who will participate in bringing about the awareness of this dangerous school this weekend. Thank you to all the Coloradans that I know of (and don't know of), thank you to the 1,000 Grandmothers, thank you to everyone who is making the journey.

Read more about the SOA Watch and events that will take place here.

Nuns' canned-food offer isn't up to prosecutor's palate
By Diane Carman
Denver Post Staff Columnist
Article Last Updated:11/16/2006 12:11:50 AM MST

As a stand-up comic, Robert Brown makes a great deputy U.S. attorney. Then again, for everyone but a prosecutor, the threat of federal prison is usually not very funny.

On Wednesday, Brown met on the sidewalk outside his Denver office with the three media darlings who have haunted him for four years - the anti-nuke nuns.

"You look great," he teased. "Prison was good for you."

The Dominican sisters, Ardeth Platte, 70, Carol Gilbert, 59, and Jackie Hudson, 72, had come to town in yet another attempt to fulfill the gnarliest part of the sentences imposed on them by U.S. District Judge Robert Blackburn when they were convicted of damaging government property and obstructing the national defense in 2003.

They are trying to pay off $3,082 in restitution to the U.S. Air Force - in canned goods.

They are collecting food for military families on public assistance.

Now, all this is about as funny as a cluster bomb, but the sisters have kept their spirits high through trials, prison terms and travel bans, and they're not about to lose their sense of humor now.

When they arrived at Brown's office, they delivered cans of food, and, as with every aspect of their lives, their choices were rich with symbolism.

Hudson brought pork and beans to represent the pork-barrel nature of the military-industrial complex, and a can of corn "because this case has been so corny from the beginning."

Platte delivered canned clams - saying the American people have "clammed up long enough. It's time to speak truth to power" - and a tin of beef stew. "With the massive numbers of people who have been killed in this war, I don't want to stew over this any longer."

Gilbert selected sweet peas - "To give peas a chance" - and cream of mushroom soup, representing the radiation cloud from a nuclear bomb, a weapon that has been used by only one country in the world, she said - the U.S.

The sisters put the word out about the food drive via the Internet, enlisting help from around the world. The way they calculate it, they would need about 4,000 cans of food to fulfill the required restitution.

Boxes of food began arriving Wednesday morning, and the prosecutors were none too happy when the office decorum was insulted with cans of beans for indigent soldiers' families. "Take it four blocks down to the Catholic mission," said an exasperated Brown, who insisted the only way the restitution will be accepted is in cash.

"We're not rich. You know that," said Gilbert.

Moments later a written statement was delivered to the nuns on the sidewalk. "The U.S. Attorney's Office cannot accept food in lieu of restitution in this case," it said. The food drive is "a tremendously thoughtful act," but the nuns were directed to send assistance to a military facility or charitable agency.

Not ones to be discouraged - especially when they've got government officials looking like heartless cheapskates - the nuns held their ground, rallying antiwar groups to coordinate food collection and delivery to military bases.

They remain hopeful that Blackburn can be persuaded to accept the canned-food payment plan even though last month he rejected their first attempt at making restitution. That one offered hundreds of hours of community service as well as $600,000 raised in their names for literacy programs, soup kitchens and victims of disasters.

"This is a grace-filled holy action," said Gilbert. "Our conscience doesn't allow us to participate in war by providing any money for bombs or violence."

Brown told the nuns to take it up with the judge. Then he leaned back, took a long look at the gray-haired women in their long underwear, wool scarves, heavy socks and thick gloves, and smiled. "I have more fun with you guys," he said.

As he turned to walk toward his office, Gilbert called to him one last time. "We'll keep you in our prayers," she said.

It was not a joke.

Diane Carman's column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. She can be reached at 303-954-1489 or dcarman@denverpost.com.

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Remember the three nuns - Carol, Ardeth, and Jackie - who, four years ago, spilled their blood on a missile silo as a protest of our country's war policies and proliferation of arms? They need your help. If you choose to participate, click on the coupon above, print it, and include it with your donation. See below:

How to Help Carol, Ardeth and Jackie
Collect Cans of Food for families of Air Force personel
Jackie Hudson, Carol Gilbert and Ardeth Platte need your help in offering restitution to Judge Blackburn in the form of food to be given to children of military families on assistance at Peterson AFB, Shriever AFB, Buckley AFB.

OPEN LETTER from SACRED EARTH AND SPACE PLOWSHARES II

November 14, 2006

Dear friends,

We need your help! Please join us in our response to the judge, prosecutor, and probation officers to complete our restitution issue.

Through prayer, discernment and an inspired action, we are conducting a canned food drive that will be donated to children of Air Force military families who receive food stamps and/or are on public assistance. We believe that we must collect at least 4,000 cans of food or more to fulfill the comparable amount for our restitution.

Please put a can or number of cans of healthy food in a padded envelope or box and send it now . (Important weeks are from Nov. 15 - 29 with Thanksgiving included. (Information below)

Attention:

We have printed a coupon for your use [see above]. Put it inside the package with the can(s). Then, please mail it.

Send no money, please!

If you live in the Denver, CO area we are outside the U.S. Attorney's Office Building, 1225 17th St. each work day from 11 A.M. to 1 P.M from November 15 -28th (except week-ends and holidays when public buildings are closed. Come see us, drop off your donation and hear our voices of appreciation.

We hope and pray that this will put to rest our restitution mandate and requirement .

BACKGROUND:

l. The judge denied our alternative restitution plan he requested in November, 2005.

2. The prosecutor rejected the plan unless the Air Force receives our response as victim.

3. The prosecutor knows that we are prohibited from going onto a military site for community service according to our supervised release prohibitions.

4. We sincerely have worked hard to do many services in lieu of restitution and trust this inspired idea to give canned food to the children of Air Force families who are in need will complete the requirement.

Children are the most vulnerable in war under the bombs and in military families as their parent(s) are separated from them.

We thank you in advance for your assistance! Let us continue our work together for disarmament and peace.

From: Jackie Hudson, O.P., Carol Gilbert, O.P. and Ardeth Platte, O.P.

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Find out how your income matches up with the rest of the world's here. (thanks to Michael and Alex)






There were times when I could not afford
to sacrifice the bloom of the present moment
to any work, whether of the head or hands.
Sometimes, in a summer morning,
having taken my accustomed bath,
I sat in my sunny doorway from sunrise till noon,
rapt in a reverie, amidst the pines and hickories and sumacs,
in undisturbed solitude and stillness,
while the birds sang around or flitted noiselessly through the house,
until by the sun falling in at my west window,
or the noise of some traveler’s wagon on the distant highway,
I was reminded of the lapse of time.
I grew in those seasons like corn in the night,
and they were far better than any work of the hands would have been.
They were not time subtracted from my life,
but so much over and above my usual allowance.
- Henry David Thoreau

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Top photo: Marine Youth. Notice in the background - the float is made up of three young kids portraying the planting of the American flag at Iwo Jima.

Bottom photo: An Elder. Gene - a WWII veteran and member of Colorado Veterans for Peace (CoVFP). I asked him what brought him to join CoVFP. He said that he was a medic in the war and saw too much of what war does to people. When he learned of Veterans for Peace ten years ago, he realized that "I found my people."

Before:

Before the parade, we hung out in our line-up positions for a very long time. It was a good time to meet new friends and share community with those we already knew.

And to be confronted for our stand on the war.

A DAV parade participant was incensed that people who wanted peace were going to march in his parade. He actually threatened to harm two of his brothers - vets marching in our group. I was amazed to watch his anger and violent threats. The war has not stopped for that vet.

The Parade:

If the experience with the DAV man was a preview of things to come, I didn't expect a warm reception from the crowd that lined the streets. But I was surprised. PEOPLE CLAPPED! A LOT OF THEM CLAPPED! They thanked the vets. Some flashed a peace sign. (Some in the audience yelled that we should be ashamed.) Grown men waved at us. I felt like I was SOMEONE in a parade in my hometown. Welcomed.

And I'm not even a veteran. Should I have even been there? I was very proud to support the men and women in our group who joined the military, went to war, and now have the guts to say that it's time for peace. It was my duty to walk with them and also with the people of Military Families Speak Out who want their soldiers to come home alive.

I felt a part of something much, much bigger than me.

Today:

Today I feel so much compassion for that disabled vet who got so angry. I don't know what his story is. I don't know what he saw and experienced during his time of service. I don't know what life has brought to him since.

And I feel a deep respect for the men and women that I walked with. I don't know all of their stories either. I just know that it takes a lot of strength to stand for one's beliefs when those beliefs are contrary to the majority. I admire their ability to stop the war and move on to another way.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you.



(The Boston Globe had a good article on their Veterans Day Parade)

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The Washington Post has photos of the 3,175 soldiers who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan so far. You can click on any photo and read about the person behind it.

3,175 too many...

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Today I marched in the Veteran's Day Parade, along with Colorado Veterans for Peace, Iraq Veterans Against the War, and Military Families Speak Out. (Notice the CorVETtes behind our group - the Colorado Corvette Club was a presence that was heard far and wide - as in LOUD motors echoing through the canyons of the city.)

Yesterday, Channel 4 ran an article saying that the organizers of today's parade were worried that the turn-out would be small due to the "nation's current feelings toward the war in Iraq" and a decrease in "patriotism". They thought that an audience of 2000 would be a sign of success. I would say that maybe they reached their goal.

It was a very memorable day, and I will tell you more about it tomorrow.

Right now, my cave is calling me...

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Check out Scott Stulberg's beautiful photography here

When the video is done, click on the "enter" button to view more photos. The menu has a place where you can choose to turn off the music, if you'd like.

Thanks to Michael, Crystal, and especially to Scott Stulberg.

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