Winter of Our Discontent

Ed Kinane's Court Statement for March 20th Pentagon Action

voices — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 19:16:14 -0600

Excerpt

July 7, 2006 *

Alexandria VA, 7 July -* In a federal district court Ed Kinane was tried for “failing to obey a lawful order” at a demonstration on March 20th at the Pentagon. On March 20th —the beginning of the fourth year of the U.S. invasion of Iraq— Kinane and fifty other nonviolent activists were arrested as they swarmed over (and under) a five foot-high barricade set up by Pentagon police as the group sought to go to the Pentagon to meet with Donald Rumsfeld._

Kinane choose to defended himself without an attorney. The following is his statement to Judge Jones. Kinane was sentenced to pay a $50 fine and $35 in court fees, although Kinane stated, “Your honor, I will not pay fines for illegitimate and politically-motivated charges. I will not pay fines levied against me for my nonviolent civic activism.”

The following is Ed Kinane’s statement to Judge Jones.

Body

July 7, 2006

Alexandria VA, 7 July - In a federal district court Ed Kinane was tried for “failing to obey a lawful order” at a demonstration on March 20th at the Pentagon. On March 20th —the beginning of the fourth year of the U.S. invasion of Iraq— Kinane and fifty other nonviolent activists were arrested as they swarmed over (and under) a five foot-high barricade set up by Pentagon police as the group sought to go to the Pentagon to meet with Donald Rumsfeld._

The following is Ed Kinane’s statement to Judge Jones.

July 7, 2006 court statement,

US District Court, Alexandria, VA**

Your Honor:

I stand accused of failing to obey a lawful order.

Such irony!

On March 20 of this year our nonviolent civic action on the outskirts of the Pentagon was all about being lawful.

I was acting under the Nuremburg imperative of resisting the organized and lethal illegalities of my government.

I live in a nation whose most salient characteristic these days is the defiance of lawful order.

I live in a nation whose rulers hold the Ten Commandments in contempt.

Let us recall some of those commandments particularly relevant to the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq:

thou shalt not steal;

thou shalt not bear false witness;

thou shalt not covet thy neighbors’ goods;

thou shalt not kill.

I live in a nation whose rulers habitually engage in armed or covert intervention against other sovereign states.

I live in a nation whose military — the Pentagon — habitually and brazenly defies international law;

a Pentagon that systematically defies the Geneva Conventions,

a Pentagon that, by endorsing torture, degrades each of us.

However, these rogues could not operate without the silence and complicity of us all.

Speaking out is each citizen’s responsibility.

It is also the Judiciary’s responsibility not to be complicit when the Executive branch systematically defies the law.

However on June 16, this Court found some of my co-defendants guilty for going to the Pentagon to petition our government for redress of grievances — a right expressly asserted in that quaint document, the U.S. Constitution.

The grievances we sought to bring to the Pentagon on March 20 include its

invading and pillaging Iraq…illegally and without provocation;
using torture and terror;
and otherwise slaughtering tens of thousands of Iraqis;
defiling Iraq with toxic and radioactive depleted uranium;
squandering hundreds of billions of dollars of our tax money to enrich the corporate cronies of Bush Inc.;

and so on.

Your honor, I am an eye-witness to these grievances, to these war crimes.

In 2003 I spent five months in Iraq.

I was there during “shock and awe.”

Men were incinerated or blown apart within shouting distance of me.

Since 1987 I have deliberately lived below taxable income.

I have done so to avoid subsidizing Pentagon criminality.

Likewise I resist the Judiciary’s complicity with such criminality.

Your honor, I will not pay fines for illegitimate and politically-motivated charges.

I will not pay fines levied against me for my nonviolent civic activism.

I have been to prison before and I can go to prison again.

In these times prison may be where an honorable citizen must be.

I understand our Constitution holds international law to be the highest law of our land.

Your honor, with all due respect, I urge you to uphold that Constitution.

I urge you to honor those soldiers in Iraq who die or get maimed believing they are defending our Constitution.

I urge you to heed the Nuremburg mandate…

to not play the “good German”…

to not succumb to fear and careerism.

I urge you to find my co-defendants and myself not guilty for honoring our conscience and for honoring the rule of law.

Thank you.

Ed Kinane

VCNV Author

Ed Kinane

D.C. Judge Gives Protesters "Time Served" For Disrupting Congressional Hearing On Iraq War Funding

voices — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 17:27:57 -0600

Project

The Winter of Our Discontent: February 15 to March 20, 2006

Excerpt

Body

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 28, 2006

Contacts:
Mike Ferner 419-729-7273
Jeff Leys 773-878-3815

WASHINGTON - A District of Columbia Superior Court Judge this morning sentenced two anti-war activists to “time served” for disrupting a March 8 meeting of the House Appropriations Committee as it considered an additional $67,000,000 for the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Federal Prosecutors had asked Judge Stephen Milliken to sentence Ed Kinane, of Syracuse, who had previous arrests at the School of the Americas at Ft. Benning, Georgia, to 180 days in jail, suspended except for one weekend, probation, and a “stay away order” from the grounds of the Capitol, and Mike Ferner, of Toledo, to probation and a “stay away order.”

At the Appropriations Committee hearing, Ferner stood up and began reading a list of names of U.S. soldiers and Iraqi civilians killed in the war, and Kinane stood, holding a banner that said, “Stop the Killing!” The two were quickly taken from the hearing room by Capitol Police and arrested. After being booked they were later released at 2:00 am, the morning of March 9.

This morning in court, Kinane pled no contest and Ferner pled guilty to one charge each of disrupting a Congressional committee hearing. National Lawyers Guild attorney, Mark Goldstone, represented Ferner and advised Kinane who conducted his own defense. Each of the defendants read a prepared statement to Judge Milliken who had several questions for the two men and then imposed his sentence of “time served.”

In his statement to the judge, Kinane, 62, said, “I saw myself as petitioning my elected representatives, my government, for redress of a policy that grieves me enormously,” and concluded by saying, “May each of us do whatever we can to end this heinous war as soon as humanly possible.”

In his statement, Ferner, 55, described his experiences as a Navy Hospital Corpsman taking care of wounded soldiers and Marines during the Viet Nam war. He said images of those days have not left his mind for 35 years and that he believes the U.S. government is committing war crimes in Iraq.

“I cannot stand by and watch these crimes continue. I must add my voice to the thousands of others crying out for an end to them until we awaken America’s conscience,” and invted the judge to “help us wake our nation’s conscience by ruling what I did.was not a disruption but a civic duty.”

Ferner’s statement follows.

Statement by Mike Ferner
Washington, D.C. Superior Court
March 28, 2006

Your Honor, when some people learn of my appearance before you today they ask me why I found it necessary to disrupt the House Appropriations Committee as it was preparing to vote another $67,000,000,000 for war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“What justifies disrupting Congress,” they ask?

I answer them, and can tell you in one word: images.

Images that have not left my mind for 35 years; from when I worked as a Corpsman in a Navy hospital during the Viet Nam war. Images of young soldiers and Marines lying in row upon row of hospital beds, shrouded in layers of white bandages.

Images of picking shrapnel out of Mike Ramsack’s backside.of dressing Bob Butikofer’s wounds every day, trying not to make h! im screa m.of changing colostomy bags on guys hoping they wouldn’t defecate out the hole in their guts caused by a gunshot wound.

Images of the young soldier I couldn’t hook up properly for a brain scan because he was missing his entire left temporal lobe.

Images of long lines of ambulatory patients waiting for supper in the hospital chow hall, sitting in wheelchairs, leaning on crutches, missing arms and legs and eyes.Images of a young man, silent and broken, sitting in a corner of the psychiatric ward.

And there are other, more recent images from my trips to Iraq that I cannot forget.

Images of the kids I met on the streets of Baghdad, and the ones in Abu Hishma who shared their chicken and rice dinner with an American journalist two days after a cruise missile blew their orange grove to bits.

Images of the young U.S. Army sergeant from West Virginia I accompanied on patrol one night near Balad, who answered my question, “why are you in Iraq?” with a tired shrug saying, “I reallydon’t know.” And his partner, just as bone tired, who answered simply, “oil.”

I see these images every day. And I know that the young men in that Navy hospital 35 years ago, just like the ones I met last year in Iraq, are getting killed and maimed for a preposterous lie.

As my blood boils I tell my government to “BRING THEM HOME NOW!” by writing letters, signing petitions, speaking at rallies, and yes, when I can, testifying uninvited to the very committee preparing to vote more billions for this war.

Before the Capitol Police put me face down on the floor outside the Appropriations Committee hearing room, I told the committee members that their actions were making Americans less safe, not more; that in addition to causing great suffering, they were also violating dozens of international and domestic laws, waging a war of aggression, committing crimes against peace, and crimes against humanity. A chill should run through our very soul as we remember when those words were use! d to ind ict another nation’s warmaking, a nation over which we stood in judgement.

And just as Good Germans were complicit in the crimes of their government not that very long ago, so to are we American citizens complicit in the crimes of our own government. Because we are complicit, we must speak out against this monstrous war in every nonviolent way possible if we want to absolve ourselves of that complicity.

Your Honor, I cannot stand by and watch these crimes continue. I must add my voice to the thousands of others crying out for an end to it until we awaken America’s conscience. I invite you to help us wake our nation’s conscience by ruling that what I did when I read the names of U.S. soldiers and Iraqis killed in this war, to a Congressional Committee about to vote more money to prolong the killing, was not a disruption but a civic duty.

Speaker of House Not Responsible for War Funding

voices — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 17:16:45 -0600

Project

The Winter of Our Discontent: February 15 to March 20, 2006

Excerpt

March 20, 2006

By Mike Ferner and Scott Blackburn

Washington D.C. — By a vote of 348-71, the U.S. House of Representatives voted March 16 to spend 67,000,000,000 dollars more for open-ended wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, despite the fact that a growing majority of the people they represent believe the war is wrong.

In an eleventh hour effort on March 15 to appeal to the conscience of the Speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert, six peace activists took their case to his office on Capitol Hill where they read the names of U.S. soldiers and Iraqi civilians killed in the war, and negotiated with Hastert’s staff for a meeting with the Illinois congressman.

Voices Author

Mike Ferner

Body

Jeff Leys, Ed Kinane, Mike Hersh, Cynthia Banas, and Mike Ferner

March 20, 2006

By Mike Ferner and Scott Blackburn

The six were part of a 34 day campaign named “The Winter of Our Discontent” organized by Voices for Creative Nonviolence (Voices). The campaign includes 34 days of fasting, civil disobedience, Capitol Hill vigils and lobbying, to demand the U.S. end the occpuation and its economic and military warfare against the Iraqi people.

Welcome, Please Come In

Jeff Leys of Voices for Creative Nonviolence refusing to leave Dennis Hastert’s office

A plaque at the entrance to Hastert’s office in the Cannon House Office Building reads, “Welcome, Please Come In.” Led by Voices member, Ed Kinane, the group entered the Speaker’s office and introduced themselves. They told his staff that four of them had been in Iraq to witness the effects of economic sanctions, Shock and Awe, the invasion, and the occupation. In some detail, they explained why they hoped the Speaker would vote against the legislation he would bring to the House floor the next day. At one point, Mike Ferner stated, “I know there is not much chance that he will, but I hope the Speaker will change the course of history and vote against another sixty seven billion dollars for this war.”

After several minutes, Hastert’s receptionist told the Voices group their comments were appreciated, but with other people waiting and without an appointment they would have to leave. Within minutes, one, then three, Capitol Police arrived. Another member of the group, Jeff Leys, explained they had learned just days before that the spending bill would be considered by the Appropriations Committee and voted onto the House floor. “That’s why there is no time to ask for an appointment,” he said.

Police and Hastert’s staff would hear none of it, however, and ordered the group to leave. Leys and Cynthia Banas refused.

Said Banas, afterwards, “I just couldn’t leave. To leave that office would have been a betrayal of everything I learned from the people in Iraq. They are my brothers and sisters.”

The Door Slams

Mike Ferner, Ed Kinane, and Lorie Blanding read the names of the war dead

With Leys and Banas remaining in Hastert’s office, the other four campaigners exited, the door slamming behind them.

In the hall, Kinane solemnly began reading names: three Iraqis and then three U.S. soldiers. With each, Lorie Blanding rang a small bell and pronounced, “dead.” She soon changed that to “killed,” later explaining that she felt it was more appropriate.

Dozens of politicians and visitors passed by the scene in the hallway. A growing knot of besuited, frowning lobbyists formed. Kinane later said he had hoped “some of the people walking by us would give some thought to what we were doing,” but as Voices’ videographer Scott Blackburn’s footage showed, few did.

Back inside Hastert’s office, Leys reported, a Capitol Police officer and a more senior member of the Speaker’s staff left to confer behind a closed door. Ten minutes later the officer emerged to tell the two activists the word from the Speaker’s office was that arrests should not be made.

Behind the door, Leys and Banas knelt down to emphasize their insistence. Looking at Leys’ size, the three officers then on the scene seemed in no hurry to carry him out. “I told them I would voluntarily get up and go with them if I was under arrest, but not if I wasn’t.”

For over an hour, the Voices members in the hallway continued reading names and ringing the bell. Mike Hersh, with AfterDowningStreet.org, and Karen Bradley with Democracy Cell, were the only two reporters on the scene despite the fact that the Voices team had emailed and faxed dozens of news releases early that morning and hand-delivered statements to every news agency on twelve floors of the National Press Building.

Eventually, no one in the office of the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representative would agree to swear out a complaint against Leys and Banas, and the two campaigners decided to leave of their own accord.

The Voices team decided to call it a day and retired to a nearby coffee shop to summarize their experiences over the preceeding hours.

Remarking on the lack of any significant response from passersby outside Hastert’s office, Blanding said that “The setting you’re in reminds you of how you fit into society, and the Capitol silences people. It’s hard to know, but I think some of the people walking by us in the hall were stirred by what we were doing and just were censoring themselves.”

Banas stated that, “We ended up negotiating in there. That’s the way it’s gonna end in Iraq, too. After all these young kids die, that’s what we’re gonna do – negotiate.”

The 76 year-old activist concluded by focusing on the gravity of the group’s mission. “I never thought I’d see my country invade another nation like Hitler did when I was young. What we’re doing now in Iraq is a crime, and we are all part of it – even more so than the Germans. They said they didn’t know what Hitler had planned, and we know. We have no excuses.”

Blackburn telephoned Hastert’s office late that afternoon, asking for a comment in response to the action. The staff person who answered said the request would have to be referred to the their press office.

“Larry” who responded in the press office said he would only identify himself by first name. Blackburn asked, “This is the Speaker’s press office and you can’t tell me your last name?”

Larry replied “I can’t tell you that. We aren’t allowed to make any statements on the record. I’ll have to give you to Ron Bonjen.”

The call left on Ron Bonjen’s voice mail was not returned.

Ferner () and Blackburn are part of the Winter of Our Discontent campaign sponsored by Voices for Creative Nonviolence

Why We Fast

voices — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 17:15:00 -0600

Project

The Winter of Our Discontent: February 15 to March 20, 2006

Excerpt

March 15, 2006

By Jeff Leys

On February 15, four of us began a liquids only fast at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Two of us are consuming only water; two of us are consuming juice. We intend to fast through March 20, as the U.S. enters its fourth year of occupying Iraq.

We began our fast on February 15 to recall the massive global mobilization against the impending U.S. led invasion of Iraq in 2003. Three years ago, millions of people took to the streets around the world in the largest mobilization ever to try to prevent a war from starting. At that time, talk was that a new global superpower had emerged to challenge the growing U.S. military empire.

Voices Author

Jeff Leys

Body

March 15, 2006

By Jeff Leys

Three years later, we must pause to wonder what has become of the emerging global superpower of peace and justice. In the U.S., it seems to have winnowed itself down to semi-annual demonstrations which bear little relation to strategic timing to try to thwart the war machine. This is not to say that the national demonstrations organized by United for Peace and Justice, ANSWER and others are not critical, nor to say that these actions do not play a role in building the broader antiwar movement. One of the key roles such actions play is creating the opportunity for local activists to network with and learn from each other on the long bus rides to and from D.C. But it is to ask the question: why is the spring mobilization against the war happening on the weekend leading up to May Day—long after the House of Representatives, and most likely the Senate, will have approved an additional $65 billion to be spent on the war against Iraq and Afghanistan during the current fiscal year? That’s another $65 billion to be spent between now and September 30.

The global superpower of peace is out there, spread amongst our local communities throughout the United States. It is there in the form of local vigils, demonstrations, teach-ins and growing civil disobedience. But we need to ask ourselves: what is it that each of us can do—individually and collectively—to further intensify, strengthen and deepen our nonviolent opposition and resistance to the 15 year long war our country is waging against Iraq.

While much good is happening at the local level to oppose this war, there is also a noxious sense of powerlessness which has emerged and become incorporated by those who oppose this war. While vigiling at the Capitol, we get the usual catcalls from a very small number of people. Most people simply walk by without acknowledging us. Another small number of people stop to talk with us about what can be done to end this war.

Then there’s the most problematic group: those who oppose the war but will not pick up the phone to call their Representative and Senators to tell them to vote against the supplemental spending bill which will provide another $65 billion for this war. These people have given up. They have willingly ceded their power to those who will wage war. They shuffle by secure in their own self-created world that they are on the “right” side of history because they say they oppose the war. But the reality is that they are entirely complicit in and collaborate with the machinery of death in this country by acquiescing with their silence.

And so I come to our nation’s Capitol to fast, vigil, lobby and break the law. In large measure, this fast is directed towards Congress. Representatives and Senators must begin to take the steps to end this war. They must vote against any more funding for the war against Iraq. It was a lonely time when Ernest Gruening and Wayne Morse were the only two Senators who voted against the Gulf of Tonkin resolution which led the U.S. into Vietnam. Gaylord Nelson joined this lonely duo when he voted against the escalation of the war in 1965. At least one, single, solitary Senator must find the fortitude to stand up and take the risks that their predecessors did. But they won’t unless we exercise our right and responsibility to urge them to vote against the Iraq war—and hold them accountable through nonviolent civil disobedience and civil resistance.

I fast in solidarity with the Iraqi people who not only are enduring military warfare but are also enduring economic warfare. Last April, the United Nations Development Programme stated that nearly eight percent of Iraqi children under the age of five suffer from acute malnutrition. That’s nearly 300,000 children under the age of five who truly have no hope for their future.

I fast in solidarity with Iraqi people who face the bleak prospect of a reactionary restructuring of the public food distribution system. Sixty percent of the Iraqi people depend upon this system for sustenance. To comply with terms imposed by the International Monetary Fund through a “standby arrangement”, Iraq will monetize the food ration system—placing it on a cash basis system (whether through ration cards, cash allotments or some other mechanism). The probability is great that this will cause significant disruption and suffering for Iraqi people.

I fast in solidarity with Iraqi people whose access to affordable fuel is being cut. Again because of I.M.F. strictures, Iraq has greatly reduced fuel subsidies. Reduction of fuel subsidies is extending to those fuels used to heat homes and prepare food, not simply to the ability to drive cars. When fuel subsidies were cut in December rioting occurred throughout Iraq and the Ministry of Oil resigned. Fuel costs are scheduled to increase 10 times by the end of this year.

I fast in solidarity with Iraqi people who lack electricity and safe drinking water. Lack of electricity, sewage systems and safe drinking water combine to create an on-going crisis in health care. Water borne diseases remain widespread in Iraq and hospitals continue to lack basic medical supplies. And yet the response of the United States has been to cut funding for the reconstruction of the power grid and of water projects. Insufficient as the funds were, in 2003 Congress allocated $4.3 billion for reconstruction in the water sector. These funds were sliced in half—to only $2.1 billion. In 2003, Congress allocated $5.56 billion to the electricity sector. This allocation was sliced to $4.3 billion (or nearly a 25 percent cut). All the while more and more funds were being approved for “security” and warmaking.

Our choice is clear in this country. We can wallow in our own mire and give up hope. We can say that we’ve given it our best and our best hasn’t been good enough. We can say that the powers-that-be our too strong and will never give in. If this be our position, then a curse be upon us all.

Or we can get back to the basics of organizing and building to end this war. We need to use every lever available to us to end this war. We must use lobbying of our Representatives and Senators. As unglorious as that is, and as frustrating as it is at times, they are the ones who control the purse strings for this war. If they don’t hear from us, they will have no reason to vote against the war funding.

We must also hold our Representatives and Senators accountable. If they do not vote to end this war, we must organize regular vigils and civil disobedience at their offices. We must let them know that we won’t give them a free pass in the next election.

We must continue to organize local vigils, demonstrations, teach-ins, letter writing parties, etc. But we must also begin to figure out what the next step is in our individual and collective life to deepen, strengthen and intensify our nonviolent resistance to the war against Iraq. The people of Iraq deserve nothing less from us.

The Legislative Quandry

voices — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 17:13:56 -0600

Project

The Winter of Our Discontent: February 15 to March 20, 2006

Excerpt

By Jeff Leys
March 15, 2006

Vigiling and fasting in front of the Capitol these past 3 weeks, it is apparent that a noxious disease has overtaken the U.S. public and those professing to be opposed to the war. It’s a disease of disdain for one’s own rights and responsibilities which come from living within a democracy. With the few exceptions of those who refuse to give up the legislative struggle, the refrain is: “I’ve marched. I’ve vigiled. I’ve voted. I’ve written letters to Congress. And still the war goes on. There is no reason to lobby or act anymore.”

Voices Author

Jeff Leys

Body

By Jeff Leys
March 15, 2006

It is a disservice to Iraqis who are dying in Iraq for us to give up upon the legislative process. It is a disservice to U.S. service members and their families to give up upon the legislative process. Much as I personally dislike the legislative process—and I focus most of my work upon building nonviolent resistance to the war—it is absolutely critical that we remain engaged with the legislative process. After all, if our Representative and Senators do not hear from us of our opposition to this war; if we do not make it clear to them that there will be consequences for them at the ballot box if they do not act to end this war, then they will have no reason to vote to end the war and there truly is no hope for an end to this war.

Contacting Congress is the most basic, most simple act a person can perform in this country. It is a matter of a simple phone call, a simple fax, a simple letter. It is calling the Representative and Senator repeatedly to continually press the demand for an end to this war. It is a simple act which anyone can organize their friends and neighbors to do. It is the fulfillment of one of our most basic rights and responsibilities as citizens of a democracy. And we cannot either forfeit this right or fail to exercise this responsibility.

Legislative work means using what legislation is available for organizing purposes. Each conversation or communication with a member of Congress should begin with the simple demand that they vote to end funding for the war against Iraq. They must act to end all forms of economic and military warfare against Iraq. They must act to pay full war reparations to Iraq for the damage our country caused Iraq over these past 15 years of military action, sanctions, bombing, invasion and now occupation.

Within these broad demands however, we must use those legislative items available which can be used to further educate members of Congress and to put them on record as being for or against this war. At the present time, there is not a single piece of legislation pending which would effectively end this war. However, there are pieces of legislation which can be used as organizing tools—so long as we continue to maintain and press our Congressional Representatives and Senators to accede to our ultimate demands.

The Murtha Bill is one such piece of legislation. Introduced by Representative Jack Murtha of Pennsylvania last November, this bill would require the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. It would, however, leave an “over-the-horizon” military force in the region for action within Iraq (and elsewhere).

Many antiwar activists seem to be opposed to the Murtha Bill strictly because of the “over-the-horizon” military force. Indeed, Voices for Creative Nonviolence has been contacted by some who claim to be “shocked” that Voices encourages people to contact their Representative to become a co-sponsor of the bill because of this provision.

Let us consider the opportunity presented by Murtha and the reality in which it is situated. First, there already is an “over-the-horizon” force in the region, whether it’s based in one of the Gulf States, Diego Garcia or Missouri (the B-1 Stealth bomber force). Second, the Murtha Bill provides the opportunity to put Representatives on record as, in a very real way, being for or against ending this war. Third, it is an organizing opportunity for letter writing campaigns, lobbying visits, teach-ins and, dare I say it, nonviolent civil resistance / civil disobedience.

This is not to say that the Murtha Bill should be unequivocally supported. No pending legislation should be unequivocally supported. While encouraging people to tell their Representative to support the Murtha Bill, we must always be explaining to those we’re organizing and to the Representative the shortcomings of the Murtha Bill. That is to say, all forms of economic and military warfare against Iraq must end and our country must pay war reparations to Iraq.

The McGovern Bill presents a quandary of a different sort. Last November, Representative Jim McGovern of Massachusetts introduced a bill which would prohibit any further funding for the war against Iraq. Many in the antiwar movement have grabbed onto this bill and for some good reason. But again advocating support for the McGovern Bill must be placed within the context of organizing legislatively.

Realistically, the McGovern Bill is dead in the water for two reasons. First, no new co-sponsors have signed on since the original 15 or so Representatives signed on last November shortly after it was introduced. Second, the McGovern Bill is not necessary once we build sufficient strength to block any additional funds being appropriated for the war. If the current supplemental spending bill which provides about $65 billion more for the war against Iraq were defeated and the $50 billion included in the Fiscal Year 2007 budget were deleted, there would be no need for the McGovern Bill.

But this doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t use the McGovern Bill as an organizing tool. It is another mechanism by which to approach Representatives to place them on record as being for or against the war. It is another tool for mobilizing our friends and neighbors. It provides a starting point for conversations with Representatives—again all the time keeping our eyes on the ultimate goal of ending all forms of economic and military warfare against Iraq.

Yet another piece of legislative activity worthy of pursuit as an organizing tool is the discharge petition on House Resolution _______. This resolution calls for beginning the withdrawal of U.S. military forces by the end of 2005 (yes, the year that was just completed). As such, it is a moot resolution. However, the discharge petition would force the resolution to the floor of the House for debate and consideration. 17 hours of debate would be guaranteed and the resolution could be amended once on the floor. Again, this is an organizing tool by which we can put our Representatives on record as being for or against the war. Will they or won’t they put their signature to a discharge petition?

Clearly none of these pending pieces of legislation come close to meeting our ultimate demands for ending economic and military warfare against Iraq. Each piece of legislation should be seen for what it is—fulfilling a necessary but not sufficient step in ending the war. Each piece can be used as an organizing tool, while always maintaining the clear focus upon ending all forms of economic and military warfare against Iraq. And while we use these legislative items as organizing tools, we must continue to nurture, deepen and strengthen our individual and collective nonviolent civil resistance to this war in all its manifestations.

We cannot afford to relinquish our rights and fail to uphold our responsibilities to engage in the legislative process. We also cannot afford to hold a test of moral purity which would preclude us from using legislation—insufficient and deficient as it may be—as an organizing tool to end this war. If we choose either of these options, then a curse be upon us for we will have failed in our responsibilities to the Iraqi people.

Hungering for Justice in The House

voices — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 17:12:38 -0600

Project

The Winter of Our Discontent: February 15 to March 20, 2006

Excerpt

March 14, 2006

By Mike Ferner

Washington, March 14 — Last Wednesday evening, the House Appropriations Committee voted to throw another $67,000,000,000 at the murderous work in Iraq and Afghanistan. That night members of the committee, righteously indignant and nearly unanimous, gave President “Bring ‘Em On” Bush a loud slap in the face.

Voices Author

Mike Ferner

Body

March 14, 2006

By Mike Ferner

Whoa! You mean the most powerful committee in Congress voted 62-2 to stop funding our national war crimes orgy? Of course they did…and then we all lived happily ever after.

No, the killing will proceed as planned, with no congressional intervention, although chances are you heard absolutely zip about the 67 Billion Dollar Question, thanks to the Guardians of Reality who insured the news from that hearing was the Dubai Port deal, not the unimaginable sum of our money Congress voted for war, nor the voices raised against it.

That news must come from places like the internet site you’re now reading, not the corporate press. And I’m here to tell you the story.

More than an hour before the start of the hearing on the “supplemental” spending bill for the war, five of us from Voices for Creative Nonviolence’s “Winter of Our Discontent” campaign lined up outside the Appropriations Committee Hearing Room in the Rayburn House Office Building. Ed Kinane, Cynthia Banas, Lorie Blanding, Jeff Leys, and yours truly were prepared to shine a light of reality, however briefly, into one of Disneyland’s darkest corners. Two of our crew had banners that said, “STOP THE KILLING,” ready to open them when we began, in turn, to read names of U.S. soldiers and Iraqis killed in the war.

We’d been in line early enough to be among the first 15 people admitted, but by the time the hearing room was changed from it’s assigned grand room to a much smaller venue, 60-plus representatives, their staffs, AND a few dozen lobbyist-regulars were shown in, the general public was shown an overflow room a few doors away.

Moments after entering the overflow, we realized we’d just been cut out of the actual hearings and would not be able to say what we had prepared. We regrouped in the hallway outside of where the hearing had just begun.

Three members of the D.C. Antiwar Network, Malachy Kilbride, Pete Perry, and David Barrows reacted to the switcheroo faster than we did. They barged into the hearing room, forcefully told the Members of Congress they all had the war’s blood on their hands, and got promptly ejected by the Sergeant at Arms deputies.

Fortuitously, a couple minutes later, my hometown Congressperson and Appropriations Committee member from Toledo, Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), arrived. I greeted her and we chatted briefly, and then she asked if I was going to attend the hearing.

“No, it seems to be pretty filled up with staff and lobbyists,” I replied.

Walking up to the Sergeant of Arms guarding the double doors, she informed him she wanted to find a seat for her constituent. What was I to do but go in and take what seemed to be the last chair in the room?

By then, Committee Chair Jerry (not the one they love in France) Lewis (R-CA), had opened the first agenda item, an amendment to prevent the administration from completing its plans to hand over operations at a strategically located Middle Eastern port to a Dubai-run company. Discussion was lively, including one comment from Rep. Jim Moran (D–VA), who, trying to slow the rush to snub Dubai, actually said, “If we want to Americanize and Westernize the Arab world,” the U.S. needs to continue doing business with nations like Dubai that are “run by a staunchly pro-American, pro-business person.”

At this time, a goodly number of reporters were attentively in attendance. I was, unfortunately, about to make a serious mistake in activist judgment.

As the only one of our merry band able to get into the hearing, I knew I’d be flying solo at my first Congressional testimony, and decided to wait until the hearing progressed beyond the amendments, to the $67 Billion war appropriation itself.

My heart sank as I watched half the reporters abandon ship right after the Dubai Port amendment sailed through. A second amendment quickly passed. A few more reporters left. Then Lewis announced a recess so members could return to the House floor for a series of votes.

Not wanting to relinquish my serendipitously-won seat, I stayed put, surprised in a few minutes as Ed Kinane slipped through the relaxed security at the door. We quickly exchanged notes, decided we’d stay until the committee reconvened, and then watched as a half-dozen Capitol Police appeared. The stage was set.

The committee returned about an hour later, sans TV cameras, photogs or any reporters as best I could tell. Luckily, the one cameraperson operating the video unit on a tripod was back at his post – for about 5 minutes – until he began breaking down his equipment. As innocuously as possible, I zipped over to what I learned was no less than the network pool camera operator, and whispered to him he may want to stick around a bit.

“Why, is there going to be a protest,” he asked loudly enough for the immediate world to hear?

“Yes, there is,” I replied, not knowing why I bothered whispering again.

“Well, we saw the one already,” he returned, “and besides, the networks said we can call it a day.”

Nothing else I said would deter him so I returned to my seat.

Hoping that C-Span might still record our protest, I sat for a short while longer near Ed who noted that his own representative, James Walsh (R-NY), had just risen to offer an amendment. Walsh wanted to shift some Veterans Administration funds from future hospital construction to ongoing operational needs. The Congressman who, like the vast majority of his colleagues consistently voted to fund the war, wanted to be sure the hospitals could keep up with the results.

No one wanted to oppose that idea, especially when it didn’t require any new money. Walsh’s amendment passed quickly. Although it looked like I’d be speaking only to those in the hearing room, there would never be better timing. I rose to my feet, wearing a Navy pea coat with my third class Petty Officer insignia, and my Veterans For Peace cap.

“My name is Mike Ferner, from Ohio. I served as a Navy Hospital Corpsman during the Viet Nam war,” I began, “And if you really want to do something about the numbers of wounded and disabled veterans coming back to our VA hospitals, the best thing you can do is STOP THIS WAR!”

Introducing Ed as he scrambled to unfold the banner, I told a now-attentive Appropriations Committee that we were on day 22 of a 34-day fast against the war, and that “…speaking for the majority of Americans who are now against this war, we say, STOP THE KILLING!”

“Listen to just a few names of the victims of our government’s war,” I demanded, and was able to announce two Marines, Daniel Bubb, 19, and Christopher Poston, 20, and two Iraqi citizens, Ahmed Khalaf, and Hamza Khuzai, before two Capitol Police officers grabbed me and ripped the paper out of my hands.

Refusing to go quietly into the night as I was hustled from the chamber, I looked several representatives in the eye and said, “Those are the names of dead veterans from this war. You are violating international laws…you are committing war cri…” and then it was face down on the hallway floor.

Next came the traditional “up against the wall” routine for handcuffing, and we began the trip to the Capitol Police booking facility. On the way out of the Rayburn Building, we passed a couple very posh dinners held in different hearing rooms. As I nodded and said hello to the food service workers in the hallway, I was glad I’d asked my arresting officer to leave my VFP cap on my head.

We were charged with disrupting a Congressional committee hearing and cited into D.C. Superior Court on March 28. The Capitol cops relieved us of belts, money, I.D., shoelaces, everything in our pockets, and took us to D.C. city jail for electronic fingerprinting and face scanning. After those pleasantries, the D.C. cops drove us about four blocks from the police station to a corner somewhere in the district around 2:00 a.m.

I bummed 50 cents from a passing cop for a pay phone call so we could contact our support team, Carmelite Sister Maureen Foltz, and my wife, Sue Carter, who plucked the two of us off the street.

Ed and I were assigned a court date only eight days after the scheduled end of our fast on March 20, so we’ve decided not to incur the additional expense of going home to Syracuse and Toledo respectively, and stay in Washington.

And – you heard it here first – we also decided to extend the fast until March 28 for a total of 42 days.

But PLEASE do us a favor: if you’re thinking of a “thank you” or some other gracious response, DON’T. We don’t need your thanks. The Iraqi people and our soldiers need your action to stop this damnable war. Think about it and determine one big step you can take that’s more than anything you’ve yet done. Do it right there, in your hometown, before Ed and I go to court on March 28. Before the full House and Senate vote $67,000,000,000 more for the war. Get your friends together and sit-in at your local congressional offices. Demand they STOP THE KILLING.

Then we can thank you.

In addition to fasting with Voices for Creative Nonviolence, Ferner is a freelance writer. His book based on trips to Iraq before and after the U.S. invasion, “Inside the Red Zone: A Veteran For Peace Reports from Iraq” is due out in August.

Press Release: Antiwar Activists Detained At House Appropriations Committee Hearing

voices — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 17:03:59 -0600

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The Winter of Our Discontent: February 15 to March 20, 2006

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March 9, 2006

Two activists were arrested last evening at the House Appropriations Committee hearing. Mike Ferner and Ed Kinane of Voices for Creative Nonviolence, interrupted the hearing to call for an end to funding of the war against Iraq. The Committee was considering, and subsequently approved, an additional $67 billion in supplemental funding for wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Ferner and Kinane were released early this morning on charges of disrupting a Congressional committee hearing.

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Press Release: Antiwar Activists Detained At House Appropriations Committee Hearing (PDF)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 9, 2006

CONTACT:
Mike Ferner 703-389-5706
Jeff Leys, 773-573-5380

Washington, D.C. - March 9 – Two activists were arrested last evening at the House Appropriations Committee hearing. Mike Ferner and Ed Kinane of Voices for Creative Nonviolence, interrupted the hearing to call for an end to funding of the war against Iraq. The Committee was considering, and subsequently approved, an additional $67 billion in supplemental funding for wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Ferner and Kinane were released early this morning on charges of disrupting a Congressional committee hearing.

One of several amendments to the funding bill was offered by Rep. James Walsh’s (R-NY), to shift funds earmarked for Veterans Administration hospitals. As soon as votes were cast on Walsh’s amendment, Ferner rose and told the committee members that as a former Navy Hospital Corpsman during the Viet Nam war, “the best way to stop creating more wounded and disabled veterans is to stop this war.”

As committee chair, Jerry Lewis (R-CA), pounded the gavel Ferner continued, “In the name of the majority of Americans who now oppose this war we say, ‘Stop the killing.’ Listen to the names of a few victims of this our government’s war,” he added, and began reading a list beginning with two young Marines and two Iraqis. Seized by Capitol Police, Ferner was hustled from the chamber as he called out, “These are the names of dead veterans…this government is violating international law…committing war crimes.”

Kinane, who held a banner that said, “Stop the Killing,” as Ferner spoke, was also ejected from the hearing. The two were placed under arrest, charged with disturbing a Congressional committee hearing, and given dates to appear in D.C. Superior Court.

Since February 15, VCNV members have participated in a liquids-only fast and vigil at the U.S. Capitol. Four have gone without food as an act of solidarity with Iraqi citizens and as a call to the U.S. government and citizens to end the war against Iraq. This action is the second action of civil resistance carried out during the Winter of Our Discontent campaign. The first occurred on February 27 in which 7 people were arrested at the White House.

Key demands of the campaign include: 1) an immediate end to the U.S. occupation of Iraq; 2) full funding of the reconstruction of Iraq by the U.S.; 3) cancellation of the odious debt incurred by Saddam Hussein’s regime, without any International Monetary Fund conditions; and 4) cancellation of the war reparations charges imposed against Iraq by the U.N. for Hussein’s invasion and occupation of Kuwait in 1990-91.

Seven Arrested At White House Protest Against Iraq War

voices — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 16:51:55 -0600

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The Winter of Our Discontent: February 15 to March 20, 2006

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By Mike Ferner
February 28, 2006

Washington – Holding a banner that read, “GOD FORGIVE AMERICA,” seven peace activists were arrested yesterday in front of the White House, in a civil disobedience protest against the war in Iraq.

Voices Author

Mike Ferner

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“Winter of Our Discontent” activist, Jeff Leys, being arrested in front of the White House in civil disobedience protest 2/27/06.

By Mike Ferner
February 28, 2006

Arrested by U.S. Park Police were Brian Terrell, Ed Bloomer, and Elton Davis, all from Catholic Worker communities in the Des Moines, Iowa area, David Goodner, University of Iowa student, Eileen Hansen, a Catholic Worker from the Winona, Minnesota, Jeff Leys, co-coordinator of Voices for Creative Nonviolence (VCNV), and Bernie Meyer, a retired social services worker from Olympia, Washington.

The seven were charged with the federal misdemeanor of demonstrating without a permit, fined seventy-five dollars, and released yesterday evening. The action was part of VCNV’s “Winter of our Discontent” demonstratons in the month leading up to the third anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq on March 20.

Terrell organized the group of 15 from Iowa that included students from Loras College, a hospital worker, and a farmer from Missouri who drove 140 miles to Des Moines to join them.

“If not now, when?” Terrell replied when asked why they drove 20 hours overnight to get arrested in the nation’s capital. “Some people consider civil disobedience an extreme measure for extreme times. If these aren’t extreme times I don’t know what are.”

“Winter of Our Discontent” protesters that were arrested in civil disobedience action at the White House 2/27/06. From left: Elton Davis, Bernie Meyer, Ed Bloomer, Eileen Hansen, a supporter who did not get arrested (holding banner on left), David Goodner

The Maloy, Iowa farmer and Catholic Worker added, “We came here to use two complimentary methods to protest this war. Some of our group are visiting members of Congress, and some are putting our bodies on the line.”

Goodner, the 25 year-old Iowa Hawkeye, said his reason was “a deep concern for the plight of the world. I worry where the world is heading when I think of global warming and war. I believe the capitalist model of globalization is the root cause of the institutional problems facing us, and governments aren’t going to solve those problems, individuals are.”

Bloomer, 58, an Army draftee who served from 1966-68, is also a member of Veterans For Peace. He said he became a Catholic Worker in 1983 when he was active in the Nuclear Freeze movement to stop the spread of atomic weapons, because he agreed with the Worker’s approach. “They say if you see something that ain’t right, fix it. I see half the world starving without a crust of bread while are resources are going to wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. This is the right thing to do and it’s good to show your colors.”

The entire group demonstrated on the sidewalk in front of the White House fence, walking slowly with placards and banners for about 30 minutes. The seven who were arrested took their signs to the portion of the fence ruled off-limits to protests where they stood, attracting the attention of Park Police who warned them they risked arrest.

When they refused to move, police called in a large team to make the arrests which included six officers on motorcycles, one on horseback, and over a dozen in patrol cars and unmarked vehicles including several command officers, with four Secret Service officers observing.

After police roped off a large, square area in front of the protesters, a lieutenant, speaking through a patrol car loudspeaker, warned the seven that “You must leave the enclosed portion of the White House sidewalk. All those not leaving will be arrested.” Three warnings later, officers approached the activists and began handcuffing and searching them one at a time. To cheers from supporters and under the eye of dozens of tourists, the arrestees were lead into a large police wagon and taken away. The whole operation took about 90 minutes.

Last night, Leys said they had been processed, fined, and released later in the day around 5:00 pm.

The former union representative from Milwaukee and three others are participating in a 34-day, liquids-only fast and vigil at the Capitol as part of the Winter of Our Discontent. He noted the fasters are observing the period between the February 15, 2003 when millions of people around the world protested the likely U.S. invasion of Iraq, and the date of the invasion, March 20. He added that VCNV plans additional protests in Washington and elsewhere in the country before March 20.

Ferner is a freelance writer from Ohio.

“Winter of Our Discontent” activists at White House civil disobedience action 2/27/06

Contact Members of the House Appropriations Committee

voices — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 16:46:50 -0600

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The Winter of Our Discontent: February 15 to March 20, 2006

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February 27, 2006

Now is the time to contact the members of the House Appropriations Committee to urge them to vote against the supplemental spending bill which would provide approximately $65 billion in additional funding to wage the war against Iraq.

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February 27, 2006

Congressional Switchboard:
202-224-3121 or toll free 1-866-340-9281

The Committee Chair, Jerry Lewis of California, indicated on February 13 that he intends to seek a committee vote by the week of March 6th. He also hopes for a full House vote by March 20th.

You should, at a minimum, make the following calls:

Your own Representative, whether or not they sit on the Appropriations Committee.
Representative David Obey of Wisconsin, who is the senior Democrat on the Committee.
Representative Jerry Lewis, who is the Committee Chair.
Any other Representatives from your state who are on the Appropriations Committee.
Then begin working your way through the list of Appropriations Committee, telling them to vote against the Supplemental Spending bill. You may want to start by calling those who are co-sponsors of the Murtha Bill to withdraw U.S. troops, as indicated in the following chart.

The phone number for the Congressional Switchboard is 202-224-3121 or toll free 1-866-340-9281. Tell them which Representative you wish to contact and they will connect you to their office.

As you read the table below, “Yes” means that the Representative is taking a stand for Peace. So, in the column on the Murtha Bill a “Yes” designation means the Representative is a cosponsor of the Murtha Bill. In the column on the 2005 Supplemental Spending Bill a “Yes” means that the Representative voted AGAINST the 2005 Supplemental Spending Bill that provided additional funds for the war against Iraq.

The only 3 Representatives on the House Appropriations Committee who voted against the 2005 Supplemental Spending Bill are Representatives Sam Farr, Jose Serrano and Maurice Hinchey.

First Name	Last Name	2005 Supplemental	Murtha
John	Peterson	No	No
Ander	Crenshaw	No	No
Jim	Kolbe	No	No
Frank	Wolf	No	No
Rodney	Alexander	No	No
Charles	Taylor	No	No
Patrick	Kennedy	No	No
John	Carter	No	No
John	Sweeney	No	No
Kay	Granger	No	No
Dennis	Rehberg	No	No
John	Olver	No	Yes
Don	Sherwood	No	No
Sam	Farr	Yes	Yes
F. Allen	Boyd	No	No
Mike	Simpson	No	No
Ray	Lahood	No	No
Robert	Aderholt	No	No
Zach	Wamp	No	No
Virgil	Goode	No	No
Carolyn	Kilpatrick	No	Yes
Steny	Hoyer	No	No
Mark	Kirk	No	No
John	Culbertson	No	No
Jerry	Lewis	No	No
James	Clyburn	No	Yes
David	Price	No	No
Jose	Serrano	Yes	No
James	Moran	No	Yes
Jack	Kingston	No	No
Peter	Visclosky	No	Yes
Rosa	DeLauro	No	No
Chet	Edwards	No	No
Chakah	Fattah	No	Yes
Alan	Mollohan	No	Yes
Steven	Rothman	No	Yes
Marion	Berry	No	No
Ralph	Regula	No	No
Dave	Obey	No	No
Nita	Lowey	No	No
Lucille	Roybal-Allard	No	Yes
Martin	Sabo	No	Yes
David	Hobson	No	No
Dave	Welden	No	No
Joseph	Knollenberg	No	No
Randy	Cunningham	No	No
Marcy	Kaptur	No	Yes
Robert	Cramer	No	No
James	Walsh	No	No
Ernest	Istook	No	No
Harold	Rogers	No	No
Bill	Young	No	No
John	Doolittle	No	No
Jesse	Jackson	No	Yes
John	Murtha	No	No
Sanford	Bishop	No	No
Maurice	Hinchey	Yes	Yes
JoAnn	Emerson	No	No
Todd	Tiahart	No	No
Rodney	Frelinghuysen	No	No
Tom	Latham	No	No
Roger	Wicker	No	No
Henry	Bonilla	No	No
Anne	Northrup	No	No
Ed	Pastor	No	Yes
Norman	Dicks	No	No

There Are Lives in the Balance

voices — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 16:33:53 -0600

Project

The Winter of Our Discontent: February 15 to March 20, 2006

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February 22, 2006 Washington – 2/22/06. Today is day eight of our 34-day fast for peace at the U.S. Capitol, the Washington component of the Winter of Our Discontent campaign organized by Voices for Creative Nonviolence.

The four of us in D.C., Maureen Foltz, Jeff Leys, Ed Kinane, and I are doing a liquids-only fast. Maureen and Ed are drinking juice; Jeff and I are trying the water route. So far, everyone reports they’re in good shape and not feeling any serious side effects.

Voices Author

Mike Ferner

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February 22, 2006

Washington – 2/22/06. Today is day eight of our 34-day fast for peace at the U.S. Capitol, the Washington component of the Winter of Our Discontent campaign organized by Voices for Creative Nonviolence.

Each day between 11:30am and 2pm, we take our banners and signs to the sidewalk bordering the Capitol Building, near the corner of Independence and First St. We distribute flyers explaining what we’re doing, and try to engage anyone we can in conversation. Here is the reaction I’ve observed so far.

To the overwhelming percentage of people, maybe 80%, we rate a quick glance or are completely invisible.
The nattering nabobs of negativity, actually quite a small portion of the total, shake their heads, or glare, or protectively pull their children quickly toward them, or try to come up with some snappy remark to let us know our presence is not appreciated.
Greater in number than the nabobs, although still a small part of the total, actually take a flyer if their path happens to intersect our location, or give us a “thumbs-up” from a distance, or blessedly, actually make a point of stopping, reading our banner, and come over to chat. I shudder to estimate what percent of total passers-by are in that last category – and keep in mind that not a small number of those good souls are tourists from other nations.

Lest you think our spirit is overwhelmed by apathy and nabobbery, let me reassure you it is not. We are veteran activists, accustomed to such responses and used to keeping up our morale with conversation and camaraderie.

The point of describing what we see each day outside our nation’s Capitol Building is not to depress or solicit sympathy. Nor is it to simply report the facts of the case; nor even to move you to action if you consider yourself in that last category above – the blessed good souls. My guess is, if you consider yourself in it, you have already been moved to action.

No, the reason I’m describing what is shall we say, a less than inspiring picture, is this. If you place yourself in that group of and have done something to make noise against this war, you must look into your heart, think, and determine what you can do that is more than you ever thought you could.

No matter what any of us has done, there is something more that we can do. If we believe this war is a criminal abomination, an ongoing atrocity in which we are each complicit, we simply must do more. For if this period of our 34-day fast, determined by the third anniversary of the February 15th demonstrations – the first time our world mobilized to stop a war before it began, and the March 20 anniversary of our government’s invasion of Iraq doesn’t qualify as the time to pull out all the stops, what ever will?

We are fasting with the realization that at best we may get a few members of Congress to think briefly about what they’re doing; with no real hope we can actually get them to stop funding this war.

We are primarily fasting to let you, our friends, our colleagues, our comrades in the peace movement know that we are trying whatever we can think of to up the ante. We are doing our very best as individuals to throw a mighty wrench into the gears of the war machine. But our effort will be nothing more than a small, noble gesture if you don’t stop…and look into your heart…and think what it is you can do that is more than you ever thought you could.

If you do, I promise we will not get discouraged at the overwhelming number of people we see, kids and cameras in tow, as so many tourists ogling the whited sepulcher of democracy, oblivious that people are hard at work in that building, making decisions, spending somebody’s money, and killing people.

I promise we will not be deterred by the nabobs who swear at us almost under their breath, or the ones who laugh, or the ones who pull their kids protectively toward them. That we know comes with the job. That we can stand. What is not tolerable is to think that the blessed, good souls in our nation, of whom I’m convinced there are a few million, will think once more about this war and say, “Well, I did wear a button…I did write my letters…I did make some phone calls… I did march…I’ve even been arrested already. What more can I do?”

Bless you for those truly wonderful efforts. I am proud to consider myself a fellow peace activist with you. But there are lives in the balance, literally. We must do more – each one of us – and we can. If we will but think with our hearts and understand that now is the time.

Ferner traveled to Iraq with “Voices” just prior to the U.S. invasion and again a year later. His book Inside the Red Zone: A Veteran For Peace Reports from Iraq (Praeger) is due out in August.

Winter of Our Discontent

Ed Kinane's Court Statement for March 20th Pentagon Action

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D.C. Judge Gives Protesters "Time Served" For Disrupting Congressional Hearing On Iraq War Funding

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Speaker of House Not Responsible for War Funding

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Why We Fast

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The Legislative Quandry

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Hungering for Justice in The House

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Press Release: Antiwar Activists Detained At House Appropriations Committee Hearing

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Seven Arrested At White House Protest Against Iraq War

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Contact Members of the House Appropriations Committee

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Congressional Switchboard:202-224-3121 or toll free 1-866-340-9281

There Are Lives in the Balance

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Congressional Switchboard:
202-224-3121 or toll free 1-866-340-9281