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Work 4 Peace,Hold All Life Sacred,Eliminate Violence! I am on my mobile version of the door-to-door, going town-to-town holding readings/gatherings/discussions of my book "But What Can I Do?" This is my often neglected blog mostly about my travels since 9/11 as I engage in dialogue and actions. It is steaming with my opinions, insights, analyses toward that end of holding all life sacred, dismantling the empire and eliminating violence while creating the society we want ALL to thrive in

Friday, November 27, 2009

Who is on the NO DRONES/NO SURGE Bus?

Who's on the bus?

When folks give me all the valid, practical, sensible reasons they cannot possibly take 5 days out of their lives to get on the bus to Creech, I am forced to ask: “If everyone is busy working, busy taking care of families, busy going to school, busy studying a new career, busy renovating, busy traveling, busying maintaining our life styles, WHO is going to be there to END WAR?

Well, tomorrow 15 such people will take the time from their busy lives to get on the bus and CodePINK truck, to do NO SURGE protests at military bases from the bay area to Nellis AFB, Las Vegas Nevada, and to continue with NO DRONES protests for several days at Creech AFB, Indian Springs, Nevada in the stunning Mojave Desert.

Who are these womyn and Ralph?

The youngest woman is in her early 30’s, the oldest 82 – and all ages in between with most being in their 50’s or 60’s. Several are Jewish, most are white, and one is Iranian.

At least two women have almost-grown children who were killed, several have children who are lost, others never had children; most have children and maybe grandchildren who are so proud of their moms and grandmothers!

Two come with back injuries, one comes sick with a cold that will blossom on the road, two others are recovering from strokes, most are clean and sober, one needs her drink.

At least one is a veteran, some come from career military families, one is a red diaper baby, another the prodigy of religious right parents. One a daughter of survivors of the holocaust, another the daughter of Germans.

Few left husbands behind, several are divorced, most are single women, at least one is a Lesbian – but everyone left family, biological and chosen, in the wings.

Some womyn are first generation U.S., others have some ancestors here before the Mayflower and one came soon after, while still a couple were not born here but immigrated.

We'll have on board artists, teachers, nurses, photographers, politicians, career women and full-time moms (some at the same time) who never received a salary. Most come from the beautiful Bay Area, one lives on a cooperative intentional community farm in the country, yet others hail from the hills, some from the flat lands.

We will spend two amazingly rewarding, sometimes grueling days busing from the MRS (marine recruiting station) in Berkeley, CA and protesting at three more military bases – Travis, Lemoore, Fresno – on Saturday, and four – Edwards, Barstow, Ft. Irwin, and Nellis – on Sunday.

Here is part of our story.

Letter to Soldiers

We have decided to protest at military bases on our way to Creech AFB where we will protest both DRONES and the upcoming SURGE.

We have this letter we will hand out to whatever soldier we find brave enough to take a letter from CodePINK.

Here is the letter, and below the letter, is the information printed on the back of the letter. Please feel free to copy and pass on to everyone you know.

Dearest Soldiers:

As you are most likely aware, for EIGHT long years, we have been doing everything in our power to END WAR NOW:
• We have protested in the streets
• We have knocked down Congressional doors
• We have gone to D.C. to the White House, Congressional Hearings, the Floor of Congress
• We have campaigned to withhold War Income Taxes
• We’ve boycotted, shamed, challenged War Profiteers
• We have educated, informed, conversed, dialogued with everyone

We have even elected a new President to work to END WAR

And none of it has worked to END WAR.

As we saw most recently at Ft Hood, Camp Lejeune, and wherever returning soldiers are around the country, the violence of war cannot be ‘contained’ in our faraway war and occupation zones but continues to erupt in our homes and communities. We MUST ensure this war violence NEVER happens again, here on our soil or the soil of other peoples, especially Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq – our present targets of military occupation and attack.

We are turning now to you, our soldiers, our fellow Americans, our sister and brother human beings who happen to be in the military.

You are our LAST RESORT! We are turning to you, to beg you, to convince you, to ask you, to demand: DO NOT GO! REFUSE! RESIST! Be true heroes: do all you can do to END WAR NOW!

For a bottom line is:
Without YOUR bodies,
there can be no war!!!

And then on the back:

50 civilians are killed for every one ‘bad guy” killed by drones. We are so deeply concerned and mortified with so much killing, death, and destruction.

What if it was YOUR child that was killed by a drone?


Resources for Drone Pilots

Courage to Resist www.couragetoresist.org
510-488-3559

Winter Soldier
http://www.ivaw.org/wintersoldier

IVAW www.ivaw.org

GI Rights HotLine www.girightshotline.com
877-447-4487

DVD: “Sir, NO Sir”

CodePINK www.codepinkalert.org
510-540-7007

www.nodrones.com

NO DRONES/NO SURGE Bus to Creech AFB