Uppity Wisconsin

and we're not any safer.

From Rethink Afghanistan:

Report the Iraq and Afghanistan wars as an example of waste, fraud and abuse on Recovery.gov today. Simply scroll down to the field marked “What” and paste this message into the text box:

"I'd like to report the waste of trillions of dollars of our national wealth on wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that don't make us safe. It's fraud to portray these as wars that increase our security, and it's abusive of U.S. troops and local civilians to drag these wars out any longer. End the wars so we can have real economic recovery."

Remember teach-ins, which sprouted on campuses across the country in the 1960s and 1970s to discuss and educate people about issues like the Vietnam war?  Even Earth Day was planned as an environmental teach-in by founder Gaylord Nelson, but it grew well beyond that even the first year.

There will be a teach-in at the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus this weekend on the war in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Also in Madison, and in communities across the state, events are planned this week to call for an end to the US occupation of Iraq, which begins its eighth year on Saturday, and to the war in Afghanistan, which the US began in October 2001.

Since the U.S.

From progressive gadfly David Swanson:

Obama Calls War on Iraq "A New Dawn" -- What Do You Call It?
(Limit 8 Words)

The winner will be announced on an aircraft carrier with a banner!

Plus job offer possible for video editing work to insert "rename" in place of "end" in campaign speeches.

Winner gets signed copy of Daybreak, latest issue of Humanist magazine, a bucket of snow, and anything else we can find.

No entries sent by Email or tweeted or Facebooked or scribbled on your hand can qualify.

All entries must be posted here:

http://afterdowningstreet.org/namethatwar

I told a friend recently that I miss the days when working for peace made one a "pinko-commie-queer," intended as insults. Now, to work for peace is to be anti-Semitic.

Across the country, and in Wisconsin, there's a movement quietly taking shape to reclaim November 11 as a day of peace.

What is now called Veterans Day was originally designated in the US as Armistice Day, the day that World War I ended at 11 a.m.  on 11/11.  In the UK and elsewhere, it is also known as Remembrance Day or Poppy Day.

President Woodrow Wilson declared Armistice Day:

"To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…"

and Congress adopted a resolution endorsing Armistice Day which said:

...it is fitting that the recurring anniversary of this date should be commemorated with thanksgiving and prayer and exercises designed to perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations...  

But somewhere along the line, after World War II,  those sentiments were repl

Memo to Milwaukeeans who may be feeling powerless to stop Badger Guns from continuing the sales practices that put more handguns into the hands of criminals than any other gun store in the nation. From the Philadelphia Inquirer: 

 By Monica Yant Kinney

This column goes out to anyone who has been feeling powerless. You may no longer have a job, a house, or retirement savings, but you still have a voice. Speak out, loud and long, and you can be heard.

Just ask the activists with Heeding God's Call about the power of prayerful protest. Twice a week for nine months, members of the antiviolence group have demonstrated at 10th and Spring Garden Streets in front of Colosimo's Gun Center.

In January, I watched a minister, a rabbi, and two professional peacemakers get arrested after confronting owner James Colosimo about his nasty record of selling guns that wind up in the hands of criminals.

A new film, This Is Where We Take Our Stand from Displaced Films on Vimeo, tells the story of the 2008 Winter Soldier hearings, organized by Iraq Veterans Against the War to bring the testimony of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans directly to the public.  This is the third episode, entitled, "Why We Fight."

WNPJ reports that 9 protesters were arrested at Fort McCoy as part of the 2009 Walk For Peace.

We gathered to start the walk on the Aug. 6th, on the eve of the Hiroshima observance - as a witness against the use of nuclear weapons and depleted uranium - the occupation of Iraq - the use of the National Guard in foreign wars of aggression - the occupation of Afghanistan and the escalation of troops in Afghanistan - the air war being waged in Pakistan.  To get more information - contact Jeff Leys at Voices for Creative Nonviolence - http://vcnv.org/walkforpeace. Other WNPJ groups involved with the Walk include Madison Pledge of Resistance, Nukewatch, Juneau County Peace Committee, Rapids Citizens for Peace.

It is Iraq Moratorium weekend again, Friday-Sunday, with lots of Wisconsin events to call for an end to the wars and occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan.   I'll be at the Midwest Renewable Energy Fair in Custer Friday morning for Pancakes for Peace, sponsored by the Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice (WNPJ), of which I am co-chair.  Join us if you can.  Info at www.wnpj.org 

New Hampshire just joined the list of states allowing gay marriage, after a quick trip through the legislature and a world-record-breaking signing by the governor. 

And yet, Wisconsin has somehow lost its progressive way on this issue.  2006 was the sad year in which Wisconsin legalized discrimination, both legally and morally.  It's time to fix this. Let's try again.  Let's keep trying until we get it right.