Organizing Locally

PLEASE DISTRIBUTE WIDELY

Dear Friends,
WE NEED 6,550 PAIRS OF SHOES to build a "Walk in their Shoes" installation for J27 - Bring or mail one or more pairs of shoes for January 27th March on Congress. www.unitedforpeace.org.

If we each bring just one pair we will have enough for this installation and others around the city. We especially need baby, toddler, young girls and boys shoes, and women's sandals and heels. Label them if you can. Go to www.walkintheirshoes.org for details. We also need volunteers to help with logistics in DC . To volunteer go to www.codepinkalert.org/modinput4.php?modin=68

Here's my pic of the month... Oh Madame Speaker, can you see?

1,000 PEOPLE SPELL OUT "IMPEACH!" IN PELOSI'S DISTRICT
January 6, 2007 -- Over 1000 people gathered in Nancy Pelosi's district, on Ocean Beach in San Francisco, to spell out the message "IMPEACH!" "America is a great country," said event organizer Brad Newsham, a local cab driver and author. "But President Bush has betrayed our faith. He mislead us into a disastrous war, and is trampling on our Constitution. He has to go. Now. I hope Nancy Pelosi is listening today."

http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?article_class=3...

[Opinion]
Pelosi's Californian constituents put that word back 'on the table'
Mikael Jonathan Rudolph (MikaelMN)
Published 2007-01-12 19:17 (KST)

"Have you ever heard of Google Earth?" a 10-year-old girl asked her father one afternoon late last year. Within minutes, married author and 55-year-old cab driver of 21 years Brad Newsham had realized how he could give the world a global perspective on impeachment.

On his way out the door as governor of Iowa, Democratic presidential candidate (and DLC Chairman!) Tom Vilsack delivered a surprise package in his last address to the state legislature:

Departing Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack used his final Condition of the State speech Tuesday to condemn the Bush administration's plan to send as many as 20,000 additional troops to Iraq.
"Now the president and the Congress are poised to make a big mistake even bigger," the Democrat seeking the 2008 presidential nomination told a joint session of the Iowa Legislature. "Understand that escalation will come at the expense of families and communities here in Iowa and across the nation."
Vilsack also urged the Legislature, with new Democratic majorities in both houses, to pass resolutions condemning Bush's plan.

An interesting approach, don't you think? And it reminds me of a little something we saw up in Vermont last year:

A formal resolution introduced late Tuesday in the state Legislature calling on Congress to draft articles of impeachment against Pres. George W. Bush has been sent to the House Judiciary Committee for review.
Rep. Dave Zuckerman, P-Burlington, the lead sponsor of the measure, was joined by 23 of his colleagues, all Progressives and Democrats except for one independent.

There were, of course, all kinds of gripes about that from Vermont's legislators and other political leaders. It came too late in the session. The legislature was too busy with health care. It was a federal issue, not a state one.

Of course, anyone who remembers the Vermont legislature's action on the USA PATRIOT Act knows that the last one's simply a canard.

But even better, we now have a very moderate, Mid-western presidential candidate calling for yet more state legislative involvement in federal policy. It's not just for Crazy Hippies(TM) anymore!

And what's more, Vilsack validates even more of the Vermont agenda:

The Remedy Issue #5

IN THIS ISSUE:

1. State and local resolution drives underway
2. Does impeachment advocacy "hurt Dems at the polls?"
3. Results from 2006 say no
4. Selected results
5. Election integrity battle continues in FL-13
6. Impeachment is everywhere
7. Send us your news. Subscribe to the Remedy

Protest Bush's Call for Surge this Thursday Evening
Vigil at Lafayette Square Park - across from the White House

Time and date: Thursday, January 11, at 6PM.
Pennsylvania Ave and Jackson Pl, NW Washington, DC 20006

map: http://tinyurl.com/yduw8w
http://www.stationmasters.com/System_Map/FARRAGTN/farragtn.html
http://www.visitingdc.com/neighbor/lafayette-park-washington_dc.htm

2 blocks from FARRAGUT NORTH METRO STATION
http://www.wmata.com/metrorail/Stations/station.cfm?station=4

The event will be simple: a few brief speeches, a reading of the names
of casualties in the DC metro area, and a candlelight vigil.

The coming weeks and months are our window of opportunity to end the war and impeach Bush and Cheney. Our best moments for action may be improvised in response to changing events. But planning out our schedule will help. You can find local events in your area, or post them yourself for others to sign up and attend at:
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/event

Here are some national events to plan for:

Commemorating 3,000 U.S. military deaths in Iraq

Dear supporter of peace,

I'm sorry to announce that 3,000 U.S. service members have died in Iraq.

Every life counts, whether it's one of 3,000 U.S military deaths or one of the 500,000+ Iraqi deaths estimated by the Johns Hopkins/MIT study. So, while the 3,000th death is no more or less important than the 2,999th or the 3001st, it is only natural to pause and think about the human cost of war when we reach such a grim milestone.

But we cannot give into despair. There is hope for peace in Iraq -- and together we can turn our hopes into a change for the better.

Please join with thousands of people across the country in a memorial vigil or other event tomorrow to commemorate those lost and call for peace in Iraq. A calendar of "Not One More Death, Not One More Dollar" memorial events is on our web site at www.afsc.org/3000 to help you find or list an event near you.

Plan now for vigils after the "official" 3000th death of US service members in Iraq... Register to organize a memorial event in your community or find one near you. Visit AFSC's "Not one more Death - Not One More Dollar"...

American Death Toll in Iraq Hits 3,000
Dec 31, 5:47 PM (ET)
By STEVEN R. HURST
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - The U.S. military announced Sunday the deaths of two soldiers, pushing the number of Americans who have died in the Iraq war to the grim milestone of at least 3,000. On the final day of an exceedingly bloody year, Saddam Hussein was also buried in the town where he was born. The White House said the resident mourned each death but would not issue a statement in reaction to the 3,000th in a war now 46 months old...

via truthout...

US Death Toll in Iraq Seen Spurring Anti-War Protests
By Carey Gillam - Reuters
Thursday 28 December 2006

Kansas City, Missouri - In Kansas City, they will light candles and lay out more than 80 pairs of empty combat boots. In Chicago, anti-war activists will hand out black ribbons, each bearing the name of a U.S. soldier killed in Iraq. And in New Haven, Connecticut, opponents of the war plan to read aloud the names of 3,000 dead U.S. soldiers.

In all, organizers say some 140 demonstrations in 37 states are planned to mark the 3,000th U.S. military death in Iraq, a milestone that is likely only days away.

"Peace Mom" Cindy Sheehan will join local activists on the Memorial Bridge during a candlelight vigil planned for Tuesday, January 2nd, 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

(Arlington, VA) - Peace activists from Gold Star Families for Peace, Arlingtonians for Peace, Code Pink, Northern Virginians for Peace & Justice, the DC Antiwar Network, and other local groups will mark the death of the 3,000th American soldier in the Iraq War on January 2.

Wear 3000th death armbands to the vigils planned to commemorate the "official" 3000th death of US servicemembers in Iraq...

Over 300 people participated in an anti-war protest in the Uptown neighborhood of Minneapolis between 1 and 2 pm on Saturday, December 23. Text by IPAC: Photos by Bert Kayakbiker

While news reports indicate the Bush Administration is planning to send additional troops to Iraq and the U.S. combat death toll in Iraq nears 3,000, many Twin Citians welcomed the opportunity to make their anti-war views visible.

Participants lined up along busy Hennepin Avenue with signs and banners calling for an end to the war and the withdrawal of U.S. troops. Anti-war holiday songs where led by singers from the Counter-Propaganda Coalition.

During the hour-long event there was a constant stream of people honking in support as they drove their cars past the event. Several passersby took signs and joined in the protest. One organizer said that the turnout was much larger than had been expected.

Mike Perkins, a member of Military Families Speak Out, an organization of people with family members and loved ones in the U.S. military, spoke to the crowd as the event wrapped up. “Bush wants to escalate this war, but most rationale people know that sending more troops will not resolve the problems in Iraq,” Perkins said. “The surge that Bush is planning will solve nothing.”

Plan now for vigils after the "official" 3000th death of US service members in Iraq...

Register to organize a memorial event in your community >
The political tide is turning. But we need your passion, commitment, and organizing skills more than ever to end the war in Iraq.

We're approaching another grim milestone in the war and occupation of Iraq. As I write, at least 2,937 U.S. troops have been killed in Iraq. Soon, the count will reach 3,000. At the current rate, this could happen early in the new year.

Granny Peace Brigade TO DESCEND ON THE SENATE TO DEMAND A TROOP WITHDRAWAL NOW
The Granny Peace Brigade, the legendary group of senior women who were arrested and jailed when they tried to enlist in the military at New York City's Times Square Recruiting Center in October 2005 to replace America's grandchildren, will descend on the new Senate Thursday, January 18, 2007. They will be joined by grandmothers from all over the United States, and will visit all 100 Senators or their staff members to demand an immediate end of the occupation of Iraq...

Account posted in comments over at democrats.com. Seems NY's finest ain't so hip to impeachment petitioning....

December 16, 2006
To Whom It May Concern: My name is Maryam Ayazi. I arranged with a person in my district to gather signatures to Impeach Bush and Cheney at Roosevelt Ave./74th Street subway station in Queens. I wanted you to be aware of how the Police Department in New York City is reacting to this. There were many police officers and security guards who were adamantly against me collecting signatures to Impeach Bush and Cheney. They did various actions to get me to leave... (more)

The Occupation Project: A Campaign of Sustained Nonviolent Civil Disobedience to End the Iraq War

Commencing February 5, 2007

In early 2007, President Bush will once again submit an "emergency supplemental" spending bill to Congress, seeking tens of billions of dollars more to continue the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the so-called Global War on Terror. The military services have already submitted requests to the Pentagon for up to an additional $160 billion in war funding for the current fiscal year. While continuing to fund the war, the U.S. still abdicates its responsibility to provide funds for the rebuilding and reconstruction of Iraq following 15 years of economic and military warfare...

Stefanie Frith
The Desert Sun November 11, 2006 November 11, 2006

Veterans Day is today. But the 11th annual Palm Springs Veterans Day Parade won't be. Instead, it will step off Sunday at 3:30 p.m. in downtown Palm Springs. The decision to change the date came after the Veterans Day Parade Committee discovered a conflict with the Parade of Planes by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Expo today, said Vice Chairman George Stettler on Friday. The expo includes a Parade of Planes on city streets at 3 p.m. today.

Associated Press

LAKE STATION, Ind. - Officials in this northwestern Indiana city of about 14,000 have agreed to discuss a resolution urging Congress to impeach President Bush.

The Lake Station City Council will consider a resolution April 13 at the request of resident Brian Cretton. Cretton attended Thursday's council meeting and read a prepared statement asking officials to place impeachment on their agenda.

By HOWARD WEISS-TISMAN
Brattleboro Reformer

Friday, April 7
ROCKINGHAM -- Vermont's cry for the impeachment of President George W. Bush got a little louder Thursday.

At a special town meeting, which was a continuation of the regular March town meeting, residents voted almost two-to-one to have the town of Rockingham request Vermont's Congressman, Bernard Sanders, to investigate the alleged illegal activities of the president and vice president, and to impeach and remove them from office.

100th AMERICAN CITY DECLARES: "BRING THE TROOPS HOME NOW!"
Madison, Wisconsin joins 99 other cities and townships

Simultaneously, 24 towns and cities in Wisconsin, including the city of Madison, joined 76 other municipalities across the country in passing resolutions and non-binding referenda that demand the Bush Administration bring American troops home from Iraq now. This effort was spearheaded by the Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice. This brings the number of post-war Cities for Peace up to 100.

Washington Post - April 5, 2006 - By Kari Kydersen, Washington Post Staff Writer

SHOREWOOD, Wis., April 4 -- Voters in the majority of 32 Wisconsin towns with local referendums on the Iraq war voted Tuesday to bring the troops home.

A call to withdraw from Iraq by the end of the year passed overwhelmingly in the liberal Milwaukee suburb of Shorewood, while in conservative Watertown, where the City Council had opposed having the referendum, it was voted down by 75 percent.

By David Swanson

Simple acts and a little courage have worked wonders in the world.  Nonviolent people's movements won democratic reforms in Russia, booted the British out of India, resisted the Nazi occupation in Denmark, drove a dictator out of El Salvador and another out of the Philippines, ended Jim Crow, crushed Soviet power in Poland, toppled military regimes in Argentina and Chile, ended Apartheid, and brought democracy to the Ukraine.  George W. is no match for a force this powerful.

Peace Events in Vancouver
February 14
12:30 – 2:00 pm Valentine’s Day "Give Peace a Dance" at Vancouver City Hall, 453 W. 12th Avenue, Vancouver, B.C.
7:00 pm Vancouver: Peace Messenger City at Kitsilano Secondary School Auditorium, 2550 W. 10th Avenue, Vancouver, B.C.

UFPJ's Iraq Scorecard: Find out how your Representative has voted, and what legislation they have co-sponsored
This chart collects it all in one place. Why has your Congress Member backed some bills, but not others, or none at all? Which bills have the most support right now? Which members are consistently leading the way? Which state delegations are strongest? Find out (requires Excel, will soon be in HTML as well):
http://tinyurl.com/ex2bs

United for Peace and Justice Legislative Action page:
http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=3116

UFPJ home page:
http://www.unitedforpeace.org

By HOWARD WEISS-TISMAN, Brattleboro Reformer

Saturday, February 04, 2006 - NEWFANE -- Among votes to approve the budget and education spending at Town Meeting, residents will wade into national waters and vote from the floor for the impeachment of President George W. Bush.

Ken Longmyer and Andy Hurst, the two candidates running for the Democratic party nomination for the Virginia 11th Congressional District to run against Republican Cong. Tom Davis, have agreed to participate in a forum on the war in Iraq from 7-9 P.M.

Drafted by Richard Matthews

WHEREAS, United States House of Representatives rules allow for setting a federal impeachment in motion by charges transmitted from the legislature of a State or territory; and

The following events can also be found in the After Downing Street events system at http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/event

You can also go there to find events near you or to create them.

Panel Discussion of Immediate Withdrawal from Iraq
Featuring: Scott Ritter, Stephen Zunes, Ann Wright, Michael Schwartz, David Swanson, Harlan Hopgood, Steve Young, and Lisa Lubow.
Saturday, January 28, 7:30 p.m.
Grand Ballroom - Manhattan Beach Marriott, 1400 Parkview Avenue, Manhattan Beach, Calif.
Progressive Caucus of the California Democratic Party and US Tour of Duty
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/6939