Hope and Peace

As we approach the Winter Solstice, the sun will begin it's return and the promise of change is but weeks away. Obama is not exactly showing enough signs of change, per his appointments, as any true progressive would seek, but he's better than the other choice. We hope.

May the quiet of the Solstice bring us peace.

Peace on Earth

If you have never heard this song before, this is one of my favorite Willie Nelson songs.

Whatever Happened To Peace On Earth - Willie Nelson

There's so many things going on in the world
Babies dying
Mothers crying
How much oil is one human life worth
And what ever happened to peace on earth

We believe everything that they tell us
They're gonna' kill us
So we gotta' kill them first
But I remember a commandment
Thou shall not kill
How much is that soldier's life worth
And whatever happened to peace on earth

(Bridge)
And the bewildered herd is still believing
Everything we've been told from our birth
Hell they won't lie to me
Not on my own damn TV
But how much is a liar's word worth
And whatever happened to peace on earth

So I guess it's just
Do unto others before they do it to you
Let's just kill em' all and let God sort em' out
Is this what God wants us to do

(Repeat Bridge)
And the bewildered herd is still believing
Everything we've been told from our birth
Hell they won't lie to me
Not on my own damn TV
But how much is a liar's word worth
And whatever happened to peace on earth

Now you probably won't hear this on your radio
Probably not on your local TV
But if there's a time, and if you're ever so inclined
You can always hear it from me
How much is one picker's word worth
And whatever happened to peace on earth

But don't confuse caring for weakness
You can't put that label on me
The truth is my weapon of mass protection
And I believe truth sets you free

(Bridge)
And the bewildered herd is still believing
Everything we've been told from our birth
Hell they won't lie to me
Not on my own damn TV
But how much is a liar's word worth
And whatever happened to peace on earth

Kucinich the Just - A Tireless Warrior for Impeachment

We can dream, can't we? Or has that been outlawed?

Kucinich, Kucinich, Kucinich....I just love that man. Who else has the balls to take over four and a half hours to read 35 articles of impeachment on the floor of the House? Although I have yet to see the story on TV, including C-Span, where last night they aired Dennis reading all 35 articles of impeachment starting at 7:30pm yesterday ending around midnight. It is one of the most popular stories on Yahoo news today. Whoever wrote the article, called his efforts basically a waste of time:

Rep. Kucinich calls for Bush impeachment

By JoAnne AllenMon Jun 9, 10:13 PM ET

Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich defied his party leadership on Monday by calling for the impeachment of U.S. President George W. Bush for launching the Iraq war -- but his move was not expected to go anywhere.

The Ohio representative outlined his intention to propose more than two dozen charges against Bush on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Kucinich, a former presidential candidate, accused Bush executing a "calculated and wide-ranging strategy" to deceive citizens and Congress into believing that Iraq posed an imminent threat to the United States.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has repeatedly said she opposes trying to remove the Republican president who leaves office next January because such an attempt would be divisive and most likely unsuccessful.

Kucinich, an outspoken Iraq war critic who has consistently voted against funding the war and led anti-war efforts in Congress, offered a resolution to impeach Vice president Dick Cheney in April 2007. That also failed to move forward.

Many Democrats and civil liberties groups have accused the Bush administration of providing misleading information before the 2003 Iraq invasion as well as violating the rights of U.S. citizens with its warrantless surveillance program. The White House denies the charges.

(Editing by Alan Elsner)

I'm not sure why such a short article would need editing including listing the name of the editor. This is not the norm. Additionally the article was written before he even finished reading the articles of impeachment.
As one person wrote on Op-Ed News, the story cannot be found on the mainstream media. They are more concerned with the election and whatever sensational murder has occurred. But there is an even more sensational murder taking place in Washington, the demise of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and Habeas Corpus. Why is this not news?
Next step, a trial for war crimes.
The 35 articles included masking global warming, lying about Iraq, 9/11 quasi-investigation, and 32 others. At least we have one Warrior for Justice in the house. I believe they ask every Representative to turn in their spine when they are elected.
Thanks Dennis, for keeping your spine.

Inspiration to Wage Peace

Inspiration sometimes can hit you like a ton of bricks, knocking to your senses and waking a part in you that was previously dormant. Like Melissa Etheridge's performance at Live Earth 2007 (7-7-07). If you missed it, you will not find it on the Live Earth album. She was one of the only performers with a message other than "buy my album". She inspired my husband and I to get out in the streets and do something other than bitch. What will be the inspiration to get Joe Apathetic Public off their rumps?

Could we pull something like this off in our "liberal" Asheville?



Listen to the latest Veterans' Voices show on WPVM. It is very powerful. Hopefully it will be an inspiration to someone.
I have the honor to know many inspirational people here in Asheville. I am one of six women involved with No More Victims Asheville. No More Victims pairs war injured Iraqi children with communities in the US to get them the medical care they so desperately need. Our little girl, Rusul, will be coming to the Shriner's hospital in Greenville, SC ,hopefully next month. Her sister, Salee, was brought to the US last year and visited Asheville in the fall. We need to raise about $30,000 for Rusul. I am inspired to be a part of something so important, to feel like I can do something about the destruction in Iraq and help one child.

Salee


Rusul


Benefit for Rusul


Where will you (did you) find your inspiration?

Is It For Freedom?

One Day in Iraq = $720,000,000

How should our tax dollars be spent? Should we HAVE to pay income tax. After all, there are many other taxes we pay all the time, just for basic needs. Heating oil, property tax, vehicle tax, sales tax. And those people were pissed about tea!!

Peace on Earth

It is a burden to care. To care so much about a person, a political issue, an environmental cause, world peace. It is much easier to immerse yourself in mindless television programs until apathy oozes out of your pores. To go about...business as usual, like the world revolves around you, Britney and Paris. Real reality is much more ugly, more beautiful, more substantive. This is not a complaint. I feel lighter being a dissident and bearing the burden.












Besides, I'm in good company.

Kucinich.....Truly Strength Through Peace

Kucinich, Kucinich, Kucinich...for the earth's sake

International Day of Peace in Asheville

This video was taken in downtown Asheville on September 21, 2007. The local media did not show up.

On Being the Change in a Free Speech Zone

As a teenage girl, I wished to grow up being a teacher of peace. I took the required history classes in high school, all taught by gym teachers and sexual deviants. (In Mr. Lafavie's class, if you wore a short skirt and sat on the front row you were guaranteed a good grade. I was not that girl.) I thought, "Why do they only teach about the wars and war generals. Where is the history of the peacemakers?".
I was on my own on this one. I could not rely on the public school system to teach me. Early on, in elementary school, I was labeled as "gifted". The problem came when I entered high school and got involved in too many extracurricular activities; band, drama, chorus, part time job, bowling league and boyfriends. Looking back, I am not surprised that my grades slipped. I even failed AP English. My failure became a blessing.
I was placed in a normal level English class taught by a very inspirational teacher we called Bev. I was leary about being in a regular level class filled with the "popular" kids; cheerleaders and jocks. After all, all my friends were in the AP classes. Ok, Ok, I admit it, I was a geek...band fag.......a nerd. But once I got over my own insecurities, this became my favorite class.
It was taught in a trailer beside the main school building as our school had outgrown itself. It was the only high school in the county back then and we were busting out at the seems with students. There were over 400 in my graduating class.
Bev taught us that there were people who dedicated their lives to peace and nonviolence. She taught us to use our voice and speak out about injustices. At this time I had already attended my first protest, a pro-choice rally about an hour away from my town. I had already visited DC twice and seen the protesters camped out on the lawn of the national mall. I knew I had Democratic leanings and disliked Capitalistic Republicans. In the late 80s though, things seemed peaceful, but I would be at the ready, should things change.
Things have changed, war is the norm. I am now ready to be the change, to teach peace. I am ready to stand up and be heard. I am ready to stand arm and arm with my fellow peacemakers. But we have to be VERY loud for anyone in Washington to hear our message. We all have to speak in unison. But are we united in the same cause? Can we narrow all the ills into one message? Change! Peace! Change to Peace! But can they hear us way over here in our "free speech zones"?

Burden of Conscience - Rise Up!

I am burdened...burdened with a conscience. Burdened to stand up for peace and against an unjust war. It is my duty as a mother ...wife ...sister ...daughter to defend our nation from tyranny. In all our protesting, we get many honks and waves of support and solidarity. But where are these people? Why do they not rise up as well? Do they not care enough to allow an hour a week to rise up and be heard?

Remember, we ARE the people. Use your voice.

“Arise then, women of this day!”

We must lead the way
We must find the courage to face the horror
We must come together
Out of the despair

We must move
Beyond personal desperation
To make our collective power
Visible

Women: Rise!
Stand together
All over the world
To demand-with a thundering cry
No More War!

Let us meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead,
Julia Ward Howe pleaded in her 1870 Mothers’ Day Proclamation.

“Arise, then, women of this day!
Arise all women who have hearts.

In the name of womanhood and of humanity
And for the sake of the good, green Earth

Rise, Women, Rise!*

- Clare Hanrahan, author of, Jailed for Justice, A Woman’s Guide to Federal Prison Camp (part of a speech given Mother’s Day, 2002, at the University of North Carolina at Asheville, Clare can be reached at - chanrahan@ncpress.net)