Sunday, November 9, 2008

Fwd: Re: [IOW] discussing Emanuel in new role

Thinking in the most optimistically possible vein I will hope that
Emanuel will serve as a good diplomat to deliver the peace plans of
Obama to the conservative element remaining in Congress.

Since the bushco administration has been in power, war resistance has
been a hard row to hoe. Personally I think we need to approach the
subject in a lot smarter way then we did in the Viet Nam era. Perhaps we need to demonstrate against the news media, for example, because they don't cover the protests.

This economy is definitely, most certainly about the war machine. It is
the only industry that continues to thrive in this country, and it uses
tremendous amounts of fuel on an hourly basis to stay alive. Climate
change is in the whole mess too.

What we need is an intelligently woven fabric for our future that
includes all the essential fibers and colors. On some news program
yesterday evening a group of young people were saying that Obama
represents more than a Presidency-- he represents a Movement, the Yes We Can Movement.

After a Peak Experience like we all had on Election Day evening it is
common to drift downward a bit and start to wonder if any good will
really come of the change. If we can keep steadily reassuring each other
that we will find new ways to continue forward with new allies,
including the young people who voted for the first time, I believe, Yes
We Can end these wars. The question about Afghanistan & Iraq that exists as I understand it is that we actually invited a new wing of "Al Quaeda" into Iraq by invading them. Obama has been saying we never should have gone there-- we wasted our resources there and stirred up a genocidal conflict.

Meanwhile in Afghanistan the methods being used to track "the enemy,"
either "Al Quaeda" or the Taliban, has been through satellite images and
a huge electronic secret underground Air Force headquarters that
sometimes mistakes civilians for soldiersof the enemy. They bomb villages by pushing a button. It is the remnants of Rumfelt's idea of the remote control war, and it is devastating to its targets. Foot soldiers might actually
be easier for the local villagers to get along with. I don't know how
the costs would compare. We need to start negotiating instead of just
fighting.

At least that is my interpretation of what Obama has been trying to tell
us. It is difficult to make your plans clear under the attack of stupid
ads that emphasize every fact in the wrong light.

So, I take it that everyone is planning to meet with the Greens on Sat.
a.m. for local action about the City Gov.,
Organizing meeting to elect Elston K. McCowan Mayor of the City of St.
Louis.
(Writing a plan to use military dollars for financially strapped
cities sounds like a winner to me
.)
10:00 am, Saturday, November 15, 2008
F.I.R.E. [Firefighters Institute for Racial Equality]
1020 N. Taylor [4 blocks north
of Delmar at C.D. Banks St.]

. . . and then they will attend Chuc's  VFP afternoon event at the Carpenter Library regarding the economy. I would think we would talk even more there about how to shift the military budget to domestic needs, pulling the money out from under the war machine.
Pat B.

Announcement: Town Hall  Meeting: Life on the Edge of a Bubble: How Long Can We Hold On?

Saturday, November 15, 3:00 pm - 5:30 pm
Carpenter Branch Library, 3309 South Grand Boulevard, St. Louis, MO
(S. Grand at Utah)

Filmographer Michael Berger has organized a Town Hall Meeting concerning the current financial crisis. Come speak out and listen!

Sponsor: Veterans For Peace
Contact Chuc Smith

We are interested in hearing about how the current crisis is affecting people. We will be asking participants what they see as the long term impact of the unfolding events?  What pressures are you experiencing? Does government have an obligation to work for fairness and equitable distribution of the wealth or should "free" markets be allowed to resolve this crisis.  Will our children and future generations have more or less opportunity for economic mobility?  What is role should government play in our economic affairs?  Can we even speak of a "free" market?  How does government policy influence the economy?  These are a few of the questions we would like to explore.

We need voices and ideas as well as folks willing to listen and learn. This is what Democracy looks like!

All the best...

Chuc Smith, past president of the Don Connors Chapter of Veterans For Peace

Wage Peace!

Charles T. Smith
1524 Eastmont Place
University City, MO 63130


--
Our ability to reach unity in diversity will be the beauty and test of our civilization.  
Mohandas Ghandi

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