We'll never forget the day we were holding a sign
on a street corner that said "Protect our Troops: Bring them Home," and someone in a passing car
shouted out at us, "But they volunteered."
We were stunned. Because we have an
all-volunteer army, the lives of these young people are expendable? A few months later, one of us (Jean) was being
interviewed for a radio program, and the announcer asked: "Why are you so concerned
about the troops? They volunteered!"
It's hard to know where to start when responding to such an outrageous and despicable comment, especially when we know that many of those who volunteer for
the military are too young to fully understand what they
are doing and when military recruitment of our children--in their schools--is highly sophisticated and pervasive.
In fact, a good place to work on stopping war is in the schools. If
we can prevent our children from becoming cannon fodder, we can also reduce the
likelihood of additional U.S.-sponsored aggressive wars. The "counter recruitment" movement is about
getting the military out of our schools and protecting our children.
If you would like to work towards demilitarizing Maryland
schools, please join us at the Silver Spring Library on Sept. 16 at 7 p.m. Additional information on the meeting is provided below.
We Have a Blog!
Our pot-luck a couple of weeks ago with Rep. Donna Edwards' chief of staff was great! Read our story about the event, "Better Than Canned Spinach," on our new blog! And feel free to comment. We'd love you to bookmark this blog, as we'll be posting to it often.
September House Party on Afghanistan
If you missed our house party on Afghanistan in August and didn't get to see the film Rethink Afghanistan, you have another chance on Sept. 13 (details below). The Washington Post recently reported that public opinion has changed dramatically and that the majority of Americans now oppose the war and occupation. Even George Will thinks we should get out of Afghanistan. What a difference a movement makes! Be part of it!!
Please come to our next house party--or better yet, schedule your own--we'll help!
In peace,
Jean, Pat, Pam, Steve, Mike, Tim, Bahram, Nik and Dave |
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"The pioneers of a warless world are the young men [and women] who refuse millitary service." Albert Einstein
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| Calendar
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 Thurs., Sept. 3: Peace Action Montgomery meeting, 7 p.m., Rockville Library, 2nd floor, student room #3.*
Sun., Sept. 6: Planning meeting for the Campaign to Keep the Maryland Guard Home. 2 p.m. RSVP and get address and directions.
Sun., Sept. 13: 7 p.m. House party on Afghanistan in Silver Spring. Please join fellow progressives and friends for dessert and socializing, view the documentary Rethink Afghanistan, and participate in a facilitated discussion of the Af/Pak war. RSVP and we'll send you directions and the address.*
Wed., Sept. 16: 7 p.m., Military Recruitment in Maryland Public High Schools. Silver Spring Library, 8901 Colesville Rd., Silver Spring. Info on topics of meeting below.*
Thurs., Oct. 1--Sat., Oct. 3: Sabeel Conference on Palestine, Pursue Justice, Seek Peace. For more information and to register for this outstanding conference, click here.
Fri., Oct. 2--Sat., Oct. 3: National conference on War Powers, Law and Democracy: "Who Decides About War?" Georgetown Law School, pay-as-you-can. Register today for what will be a seminal conference!*
Mon., Oct. 5: The National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance is organizaing a demonstration in DC on the anniversary of the Afghanistan war. Find out more here.
Sat., Nov. 14--Sun., 15: The International Peace Bureau, the oldest international peace federation, will hold a conference in D.C. focusing on militarism's hindrance to development. Peace Action is a conference coordinator. More here.
Every Saturday: Join a vigil for peace in Olney, corner of Rt. 108 and Georgia Ave., 10:30-11:30.*
Every Friday: Vigil at Walter Reed, in the open plaza between Dahlia and Elder streets, 7 to 9 p.m., come for any amount of time during that period.*
*Events that PeaceAction Montgomery has discussed and formally endorsed.
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| Demilitarize Maryland Schools
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We invite you to work with us on three campaigns:
(1) The Armed
Services Vocational Aptitude Battery test--legislation to protect student privacy: The ASVAB is used as a recruiting tool in 182 high schools
throughout Maryland and in 11,900 schools across the country. A student's
personal contact information is automatically shared with military recruiters.
Legislation introduced by Sen. Paul Pinsky this year in the Maryland Senate would have prohibited the
automatic release of this information in Maryland. This bill passed the Senate, but died in
a House committee. The Peace Action campaign will organize public support to
lobby state lawmakers.
(2) A state-wide study on the Junior Reserve Officer's Training Corps Program
(JROTC): The JROTC program is offered at over 3000 middle and high schools
nationwide. We will investigate instructors' credentials, in-school firing
ranges, textbook bias, and other issues.
(3) A state-wide study to determine adherence to federal law on recruiter access: Federal law mandates that military
and college recruiters enjoy the same access to high school students. In many
schools throughout the state, military recruiters are granted greater access to
students than college recruiters.
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When: Wed., Sept. 16, 7 p.m.
Where: Silver Spring Library
Who: You and your friends
The Silver Spring Library is located at:
8901
Colesville Rd., Silver Spring, MD 20910
From the Silver Spring Metro, walk north on Colesville
Rd., 4 1/2 blocks. Library is on the right.
For more info, contact Pat Elder.
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TO DO THIS WEEKCome to our meeting Thurs., Sept. 3: note new location--Rockville Library!
Plan a house party on the Af/Pak war--we'll help! E-mail us here.
In Van Hollen's district? Ask him why he isn't supporting the McGovern bill, H.R. 2404, to require an exit strategy for Afghanistan. Contact info here.
We've redesigned our Web site!
Check it out here!
We need help staffing literature tables at community fairs. E-mail us if you are available for a couple of hours on any of these dates: 9/13; 9/20; 9/24; or 10/11.
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Those Who Died in Iraq, Afghanistan & Pakistan, August 16-22:
Iraq:
Spc
Matthew Hastings 23 Claremore OK
Pvt William Vanosdol 23 Pinson AL
245 Iraqis were killed.
Afghanistan:
Cpl James
Fullerton 24 England
Cpl Louis Carter 19 England
Cpl Simon Annis 22 England
Cpl Nicholas Roush 22 Middleville MI
Sgt William Woods Jr 31 Chesapeake VA
Sgt Jose Crisostomo 59 Inarajan Guam
Cpl Leopold Damas 26 Floral
Park NY
Sgt Clayton Bowen 29 San Antonio TX
Pvt Morris Walker 23 Chapel Hill NC
Spc Troy Tom 21 Shirock NM
Pvt Jonathan Vanney 20 Litchfield MN
Sgt adam Benjamin 34 Garfield OH
Spc Paul Dumont Jr 23 Williamsburg VA
Pvt Brian Wolverton 21 Oak Park
CA
Pvt Jonathan
Young 18 England
Sgt Paul McAleese 29 England
Spc Justin Pellerin 21 Boscawen NH
Sgt Matthew Ingram 25 Pearl MS
Sgt Andrew Lobosco 29 Somerville NJ
182 Afghans and Pakistanis were killed. |
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