Hold your Ground for Peace

Congress does NOT intend to Shut down war!

We the People MUST SHUT DOWN WAR!!!

With 70% of our nation wanting the occupation of, and war against, Iraq to end, in November we elected Democrats to comply with our Mandate for Peace.

Despite our mandate, and the desires of our own soldiers in Iraq, and the warnings of many generals and other military folks, and people all over the world, and the Iraqi people themselves, the Democrats joined the Republicans and voted to fund the continuation of this occupation through September.

For this reason, we are calling for a SUMMER OF PROTEST! From the Fourth of July until Labor Day let’s be out in the streets, camped out in public places (“encampments”), organize marches and peace-ins, work from home at your computer — anything you can do to work for peace.

We are focusing on shutting down four entities that supply this war:

1) Corporations — from oil companies/refineries, to manufacturers of weapons, to daily operations like Stevedoring Services of America, Blackwater, Bechtel — those entities supplying the materials for war.

2) Congress — especially the 86 Dems in the House and the 37 Dems in the Senate who are providing the political supplies for war, with a focus on the 14 (out of 16) women Senators.

3) Military — including bases, recruiting centers, Fleet Weeks, and Blue Angels — the entities that create both the hype and the human fodder for war.

4) We the people who comply with war.

General Daily Actions

7 o’clock: At 7 in the morning and 7 in the evening, step outside where you happen to be. For 5 minutes, ring a bell, beat a drum or pot or pan, or clap your hands and chant or shout, “END WAR NOW! TROOPS HOME NOW! PEACE NOW!”

Fly a U.S. American Flag half-mast upside-down with a hot pink peace symbol painted on it

Wear the number, on your sleeve or chest, of U.S. deaths and Iraqi deaths.

Commit THREE hours every day to working to end war.

Weekly Actions

Mondays: Military Days. Stand in front of bases & recruitment centers with large hot pink banners that read “Soldier, DON’T GO” or “Soldier, DON’T KILL for OIL” or “Soldier, DON’T KILL for my freedom”; hand out a list of G.I.’s rights, with phone numbers of hot-line cards and counter-recruitment info.

Tuesdays & Thursdays: Terrible Corporations Actions: Shutting down the docks, picketing refineries, targeting Blackwater.

Wednesdays: Focus on the Federal Building Actions: Your Representative probably has an office in this building – die-in, vigil, picket.

Fridays: Facile Congress Actions: Peace-Ins:
3:30: vigil in front of your Congressperson’s office
4:30: make appointments to meet with her/him to lobby for peace

Saturdays & Sundays: Speaking the Truth Days: Educating the public, chalking sidewalks, handing out numbers to wear, “Real face of war” and “Walk in their shoes.”

Month Action

Hold your Ground for Peace: CAMP OUT to SHUT DOWN WAR
Modeled after Seneca Women’s Peace Encampment, Camp Casey, Camp Pelosi: Pick a site; hold an event; pitch your tent, bring your sleeping bag; hold your ground for peace.

March/walk/bike to Washington D.C. Join the existing March for Peace or start your own and head to D.C.

Devise and implement these actions or others for your town! Don’t wait for someone else to step forward!

EVERYONE: plan of being in DC by September


We MUST sacrifice this summer: take leaves from your job, your family, your home, your life-style; no summer-as-usual, no more life-as-usual; we suffer, we sacrifice, we empower ourselves to END WAR NOW!

We know that, whatever we sacrifice and suffer, it is incomparable to what the Iraqi people are suffering. Step up and share the burden.