Wikileaks, Swastikas, A Birthday

The Wikileaks materials confirm what you already knew: the Afghan war is disastrous and won't get better. So, why escalate?

Our pressure has made it extraordinarily difficult for Congress to pass a special appropriation to fund the escalation. Various machinations have culminated in today's expected House vote, which will be the final, make-or-break vote for escalation.

Here's the situation: The House passed a supplemental appropriations bill a couple of weeks ago to fund the escalation; this bill also included money to prevent teachers from being laid off, among other social needs. The Senate stripped out most of that, including the money for teachers, and sent the bill back to the House, which must now vote on it again.

The remaining, non-war items are important to fund, but they can be funded separately: there is no need to tie them to the escalation of the war in Afghanistan. Because these non-military items are included in the bill, it is possible that some Republicans, opposed to any government spending except war, may oppose the legislation, joining anti-war Democrats to vote no.

Consequently, White House pressure will be directed especially at those anti-war Democrats who voted against the escalation funding originally. This includes Donna Edwards.

Donna needs to hear from us that we have her back.

Our other representatives, such as Chris Van Hollen, need to know that we continue to be extremely disappointed with their voting records and that we are paying attention. Van Hollen voted for the war funding and will likely do so again. If you are a constituent, tell him what you think of that.

So, we have to call them--again. Every call is extremely important.

Even if you've called on this before, do it again--right now, before the vote.

Call this toll-free number, provided by the Friends Committee on National Legislation, and ask for your representative: 1-888-493-5443. Tell him or her to vote no on funding the escalation of the Afghan war.

Swastikas

The Olney synagogue of B'nai Shalom was desecrated on Sunday night, with messages of hate, including swastikas, spray-painted all over the building.

It is shocking that our community is the target of such bigotry and hatred. We have extended our support and love to our friends and neighbors at B'nai Shalom and encourage you to do so as well.

We must stand together against this kind of intimidation and outrage. You can send a message of solidarity to the congregation here. If you do, please tell them that your message comes from a member of Peace Action Montgomery!

A Birthday Message for Ike

County Executive Isiah Leggett was feted on his birthday a couple of weeks ago, and we gave him a giant birthday card! The card presentation, part of the formal program in front of many Democratic party leaders--the governor, Rep. Van Hollen, and many others--thanked Ike for his support for peace.

Ike participated in our town hall forum two years ago on the cost of the wars, and he has made strong anti-war statements, especially following his trip to Viet Nam last year. The birthday event enabled us to point out the cost of U.S. militarism to all the pooh-bahs at a time when our county is struggling to pay its librarians, teachers, and other county workers and to meet its obligations to the most vulnerable.

This event was the first salvo in our new campaign, "Fund our Community, Bring the War Dollars Home." If you'd like to help us work on this, we'd be thrilled--just let us know!

Reminder:

Don't forget to call Congress--at some point we will leave Afghanistan, but why must more young Americans die there? Why must more Afghans suffer the brunt of our bullets and bombs?

Who will be the last American to die in Afghanistan?

In peace,

Jean, Pat, Pam, Alex, Dave, Nik, Steve, Tim, Bahram, Karen, Melinda, Fran, Josh, Kit, Mike, Shelley