Antiwar Tuesday
Each Tuesday, all members of this group will do something small to show their opposition to the war. Wear a black armband, don't buy gas, call Congress, whatever -- it's up to you to decide how to participate, but whatever it is, you're doing it along with other group members who are doing their own personal antiwar actions.
It won't stop the war, but it's a symbolic way to show resistance and feel solidarity with others who feel the same way you do.
To show each other what we're all doing, we'll have an open thread posted every Tuesday. Please post a comment telling how you participated!
Iraq roundup
Interesting tidbit today --- they're planning to cut combat tours from 15 to 12 months.
Gen. George Casey, the Army chief of staff, told a Senate panel that the Army is under serious strain from years of war-fighting and must reduce the length of combat tours as soon as possible.
"The cumulative effects of the last six-plus years at war have left our Army out of balance, consumed by the current fight and unable to do the things we know we need to do to properly sustain our all-volunteer force and restore our flexibility for an uncertain future," Casey said.
Antiwar Tuesday
I wanted to talk about this at the meeting last night, but we ran out of time.
Can we please put more effort into Antiwar Tuesday?
By "more effort" I mean more consistency, more invites, and also talking to friends about it. For all the "hey, what a great idea" comments people left in the past, it never took off the way I think it should have and still could if we tried harder. And why the f not? It's not like it's that hard to do one small action a week and then post it to a facebook group, especially when the link is right in your inbox. I'm tired of seeing 6 different people do it every week and then disappearing. We can do better.
Please do something tomorrow. And next week. And the week after that. Until the war ends. That's the only way we build anything. Otherwise, there's no forward progress, just me trying to keep the thing alive, and just once, just ONCE, I wish something like this would take on a life of its own.
Congressional District Strikes
(note: there are no new ideas here, just a bunch of old ones
I ripped off, combined and applied to the current situation)
The Need for Resistance
It has become clear to me that simple protest and other purely expressive activity is not enough to beneficially alter the course of this country. Hundreds of thousands marched in the streets prior to the invasion of Iraq, yet the war occurred anyway. Since then, a number of major protests have occurred in DC and in other cities, but the war continues despite these efforts.
The events of September 15th and the coverage thereof have convinced me that even hundreds of thousands of people marching in the street are just an easily ignored nuisance to those who control this country.
Out for the Week + Antiwar Tuesday help
Hey guys, I'm going on a road trip for a week starting tomorrow and just wanted to give you guys a heads up, and also ask a little favor if anyone's willing.
Since I'm going to be Internet-challenged, I won't be able to do Antiwar Tuesday. Like, at all. Would anybody be willing to put up the discussion thread and send the message out for me? You guys know how it works... I put up a discussion thread asking what everybody did, and then I send a message to the group with a link to it. And that's it. Takes 5 minutes. Can anyone do it? Pleeease? And I'd also need a volunteer for next week, too, since I'm probably not going to be back in until Wednesday. Maybe the same person, maybe someone different...either way.
The War
Most of the posts I make about the war, I’m summarizing a specific development or event. But today I’m going to write more broadly and at greater length. This is my whole take on Iraq.
Like anyone who cares for human rights, I’m glad that Saddam Hussein is gone. But I’m also extremely angry at the cost in terms of life, money, time, effort and credibility.
Thursday Open Thread
"Of course the people don't want war. But after all, it's the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it's always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it's a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger." -Herman Goering at Nuremberg
My Message to Duncan Hunter
For my Antiwar Tuesday activity this week, I visited Congressman Duncan Hunter's office and read out a brief message. You may have heard his name before. He's a leading Republican, former chair of the House Armed Services Committee and a consistent supporter of President Bush's policies on Iraq. He's been my "representative" in Congress since I was born; he was first elected in 1980 and I was born in 1985. He's currently running for president on a pro-war, anti-immigration, anti-liberal platform.
Here's the message:
I’d like to thank the Congressman for his staunch support for President Bush’s policies regarding Iraq. There are a lot of wonderful things his loyalty has helped the president accomplish, but to make this brief, I just wanted to identify five in particular.
My trip, my thoughts, my hopes
So, I returned from my 2 week trip to Italy and Greece yesterday after an unexpected night spent in Chicago due to airline issues. Anyways, I'm glad to be back in the States. I missed customer service, my bed, my shower, music, my family and friends. However, I'll miss Italian gelato and pizza along with greek donuts and baklava. One of the nicest things about being away was getting to avoid all the stupid acts of W and the stupid conflicts of candidates. I turned on my TV this morning and first thing I hear about is the car bombings in Iraq, poverty, etc. But then, a refreshing moment occured when John Edwards came on to Good Morning America. This guy has his act together. He knows what he wants, he has GOALS and PLANS to get there. I like him.
Antiwar Tuesday update
Just wanted to drop a note that Antiwar Tuesday met the goal of 10 participants last week, and someone invited some more people, and I think folks are also coming in from a message I sent out to the Black Armbands - May 1st group. It's up to 47 members now and growing.
The things everyone's doing are really cool. I promised I'd do something fucked up next week if we made this week's goal, so now I guess I gotta come up with something. :-)
Reports of another massacre during Battle of Fallujah
SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - Up to 10 U.S. Marines are under investigation for the deaths of eight Iraqi prisoners during the November 2004 battle for Fallujah, marking the third war crimes probe of Marines at California's Camp Pendleton, a government spokesman said on Thursday.
A firsthand account of the alleged massacre can be found here.
Antiwar Tuesday
I posted this idea last week about us maybe doing a loose antiwar action and there was some interest, so I think we should try it tomorrow. Here it is again if you missed it:
What if every Tuesday, we all did something small to express our opposition to the war? Nothing huge or organized, just slightly out of the ordinary, and in solidarity with strangers from all over the country. It's not going to stop the war, obviously, but it at least affords the opportunity to try, and show your support for other people doing the same.
Possible actions could include not buying gas, wearing a black armband, drawing a peace sign on your hand, not shopping, skipping work or class, shouting "STOP THE WAR" at the top of your lungs, putting up a flier, calling your congressperson or the president, or whatever else you can think of.
I started a group. Please join! Next week, I'll use it to send out a reminder on Monday.
I'm also going to post a special open thread tomorrow afternoon for us to announce how we each participated.