VOLUSIA-FLAGLER “BRING OUR TROOPS HOME”PETITION DRIVE AND SPEAK-OUT ON DEC. 14, 2005
I realize that it's a little short notice, but I've volunteered the Central Florida Veterans for Peace to host MoveOn.org's latest national event to be held this Wednesday, December 14th. It is a national "Bring the Troops Home" petition delivery and speak-out. The petition delivery will occur between 12 noon and 12:45 and the speak-out will go all afternoon until all the names of our fallen soldiers in Iraq have been read aloud. Once again, I'm asking for your help.
The military's "best friend in Congress", retired Marine Colonel of 37 years service, decorated Combat Veteran of both the Korean War and Vietnam, Congressman John Murtha of Pennsylvania introduced legislation in Congress on November 17th calling for a redeployment of our troops in Iraq. The proposed measure is H.J. Res. 73, and it has yet to be brought to committee. The day after Congressman Murtha introduced the resolution, Congressman Duncan Hunter of California and other Republicans in congress quickly introduced a phony measure calling for immediate withdrawal from Iraq, and then voted on unprecedented House rules changes allowing for limited debate and a vote on the same day that the phony legislation, H.R. 571, was introduced. The intent was to give the appearance to the American People that Congressman Hunter's measure for immediate withdrawal being debated and unanimously voted down on Friday, November 18th was instead Congressman Murtha's well thought out and defined proposal announced the day earlier. Congressman Hunter's phony resolution submitted earlier in the day on Friday, November 18th was designed to discredit Congressman Murtha's proposal for withdrawal and it's supporters ... http://mediamatters.org/items/200511210009 ... and it may have fooled some Fox News Channel viewers, but most of the American People didn't buy it thanks in part to the Press finally doing its job in giving us the truth about it.
As some of you already know, our own Congressman Mica never served our country a single day in the military. While Congressman Murtha was taking fire and earning Purple Hearts as a Combat Marine in Vietnam, a decade or more after taking fire and serving as a Combat Marine in Korea, our Congressman Mica was attending college safe at home back here in the States. Even after completing college, and while literally hundreds of thousands of Americans his own age were going off to fight and die in Vietnam, our Congressman Mica continued to chose for another 7 years not to serve his country in the military during a time of war. None of Mr. Mica's children of service age have served our country in the military either, all the while he has been a staunch supporter of the Bush/Cheney policy of "Stay the Course" in Iraq which continues to send other less fortunate Americans’ children to fight and die in Iraq ... many on their 2nd and 3rd tours of combat duty, and some even now on their 4th tours !
Congressman Murtha stated on November 17th, "Our military has done everything that has been asked of them. It is time to bring them home"http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/18/politics/18military.html?ex=1289970000&en=6aa053e9837f6191&ei=5090 &partner=rssuserland&emc=rss ... and those of us who have actually served and/or who have family members in the "Other People's Kids" category currently serving in the military agree. Our Representative in Congress, John Mica, is still backing the Bush/Cheney "Stay the Course" policy that subjects our troops as targets in their positions of "Occupiers" in Iraq. We think that it's time that Congressman Mica and the all too many in the Republican Majority who never even served our country in the military, let alone fought and bled for our country while at war, meet with Congressman Murtha and listen to what he has to tell them about war, the wounded, insurgencies, being an occupying force, the military in general, and what he as one "who's been there" thinks that our country should do about Bringing Our Troops Home from Iraq.
The newly-formed (and looking for new members) Volusia/Flagler chapter of Code Pink (Women for Peace) ... www.codepinkalert.org ... has signed on to co-sponsor this event with us, but I would like to get any other groups that you can think of to participate as well, and would appreciate your suggestions and referrals. I am still in the process of getting the information together for the link to the MoveOn site and for the press releases, etc.
It would be great if we could get other local groups such as the NAACP, the Urban League, workers/labor groups such as healthcare workers and nurses associations or their SEIU union locals, perhaps the Communications Workers of America and IBEW locals in Port Orange, student groups from DBCC, BCC, ERAU, Stetson, etc. to sign up to co-sponsor with us. Does anyone know about the Catholics "Pax Christi" ... www.paxchristiusa.org ... who have traditionally been at the forefront of peace/anti-war efforts ... are there any "Pax Christi" or similar religious/faith groups here in this area that you know of ?
This event is also representing Congressman Mica's constituents from areas north of Ormond Beach. If anyone knows of any peace groups or other groups in Flagler County and/or St. John's County, or areas west of Daytona Beach/Ormond Beach that might be interested in participating in the event, could you please let me know ? I'd also like to get some member of the local Clergy to participate in the delivery of the petitions as well. If you guys know of any progressive preachers, priests, ministers or men/women of the cloth who might be interested then please let me know. We would like to get as many veterans and members of the clergy as we can to participate in the delivery of the petitions, and are asking if at all possible that veterans and clergy to wear clothing indicating that they are a veteran or member of the clergy.
In the past I've had trouble with emailing people I don't know because they have found their way onto my copied-and-pasted-and-copied again email forward list. Many of the email addresses that are on that list of mine are a mystery to me as to who the person is that belongs to the email address. I would really appreciate it if you would send to me the list of emails of people belonging to your respective groups, and identifying to me who they are if you don’t mind, so that I can purge any duplicate email names from my own disorganized list. That way, I would simply email my notice to you guys as organizers for your own respective groups and then you could forward the emails to your group mail list if you deemed appropriate. Would that be OK with you guys ? It sure would be a help to me and it could also help in preventing people in your groups getting any unsolicited emails from me or my group without going through you guys first.
As far as the event on Wednesday, the delivery of the petitions (petitions will be computer generated on Monday or Tuesday by MoveOn) to Congressman Mica's office will be between 12 noon and 12:45 with media hopefully present. MoveOn is asking that as many veterans and family members of military personnel as possible participate in the delivery of the petitions, public speaking and discussions with the media. Please click here to get to the actual sign-up at the MoveOn site: http://political.moveon.org/event/events/index.html?%20=&action_id=31&id=6503-3096342-CLeLtsxKi4qc7nAAPhHdAA&t=1
As for the "speak-out" part of the event, we are planning on assembling the same wooden podium that we used for the 2,000 KIA candlelight vigil in October and once again reading out loud the names of all of the approximately 2,100-2,200 soldiers KIA to date. This should take all afternoon and will allow for people wishing to participate in the event to come and go at times during the afternoon that they are available to do so. John, would we be able to once again use your bullhorn ? Our plan is to get a sign-up list for different groups to take a half-hour time-slot for the reading of the names of the soldiers KIA. For example, the Volusia/Flagler chapter of Code Pink might take from 1:00 to 1:30 and ProActivists of Volusia might take from 1:30 to 2:00, or something like that.
Please take a few minutes to watch this short flash video of Dr. Martin Luther King's comments on war from an April 4, 1967 speech, a year to the day before he was assassinated http://www.bushflash.com/mlk2005.html
"A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death." - Dr. Martin Luther King, April 4, 1967
"I call on Washington today, I call on every man and woman of goodwill all over America today, I call on the young men of America who must make a choice today ... to take a stand on this issue. Tomorrow may be too late, the book may close, and I don't know about you, but I ain't gonna study war no more." - Dr. Martin Luther King, April 4, 1967
OK, folks, I hope to hear back from you all soon. Please pass this along if you would. Thanks.
Sincerely,
Philip C. Restino Founding Member Central Florida Veterans for Peace 1250 Woodcrest Drive, Suite 1102 Daytona Beach, Florida 32114 Ph: (386) 255-7441 Fax: (386) 255-7442 Email:
