VOTING - DO SOMETHING

Please take action and forward to your contacts.

This has national implications.  For the first time ever, we have the
opportunity to subpoena key voting industry witnesses to get them
under oath in front of a senate hearing to investigate what the Sam Hill
they were doing when they created and recommended tamper-friendly
voting systems.

We're sure by now you're aware that Calif. did  an about face and
certified Diebold's entire line of products -- hackable touch screens,
hackable optical scanners, and extremely hackable GEMS tabulators
-- despite 100% public opposition and numerous attacks proving the
sytems' fatal flaws and insecurities.

But this isn't just California. Get these people under oath in California,
and you get them questioned for the whole nation.

Everything is at stake. 

We are putting some very important phone numbers and emails here
along with simple instructions for what we all need to do.

We have everything to lose if we don't all take a few simple steps
immediately.  EVERY STATE is experiencing issues with secret, privatized
voting equipment examined by mysterious private contractors who won't
answer any questions at all about what they do.

Here is the most efficient, easiest strategy to counteract shoving illegal
and insecure systems that we never asked for down our throats. This
action is the culmination of years of hard-core work by Black Box Voting
and others. JUST DO IT. 

Here are the simple, painless suggestions. See below for why they are
so important. 

This comes down to only FIVE emails, FIVE faxes, FIVE calls.

Do you have one good excuse for not being able to make five contacts? 
On second thought-- don't think one up. Just do it, please.

Remember; your tax dollars are paying not only for this equipment,
but for the voting machine examiners who refused to answer any
questions in last week's Calif. Senate Elections Committee hearing.

WHAT'S DIFFERENT ABOUT THIS CALL TO ACTION:

1) All we need is three out of five senators.
2) All five are interested and willing to listen
3) This is the FIRST time Black Box Voting has issued a call to action.

We believe grass roots calls to action lose their punch when overused.
We have waited until now because, like the Black Box Voting Hursti
project, we know THIS effort is highly strategic and can create real
change, quickly.

WHO TO CONTACT:

California Senate Rules Committee. Only they have the power to
authorize subpoenas.

WHY DO WE NEED SUBPOENAS?

Key voting industry witnesses, including all federal testing lab personnel,
chickened out of Calif. Senate Election Committee's Feb. 16 hearing on how
this stuff got certified in the first place. They don't want to answer questions.

Subpoenas will legally compel them to show up so they can be questioned
under oath. Black Box Voting believes that perjury will follow. A plan is
in the wings for what to do if/when key witnesses perjure themselves.

By the way, documents can also be subpoenad - like the NONDISCLOSURE
AGREEMENTS signed by voting system examiners, which reportedly have
prevented them from telling what they know. And like the documents
requested under Calif. public record law by the Senate Elections Committee
which the current secretary of state -- in violation of the law -- has failed
to answer or provide.

HERE IS THE CONTACT LIST FOR THE FIVE RULES COMMITTEE MEMBERS:

Urge support for subpoenas of election industry and certification insiders.
(Among those who chickened out of testimony on Feb. 16: Diebold, ES&S,
Sequoia and Hart Intercivic; Ciber labs, Wyle labs, and voting system
examiners).

IT'S ONLY 5 EMAILS/FAXES/CALLS. MAKE THEM ALL.

Senator Don Perata (Chair) D
(916) 651-4009 
District office (510) 286-1333
Senator.Perata@sen.ca.gov
Fax (510) 286-3885 Perata

Senator Jim Battin (Vice-Chair) R
(916) 651-4037
Jim.Battin@sen.ca.gov
Fax: (951) 653-9524 Battin

Senator Roy Ashburn R
(916) 651-4018
senator.ashburn@sen.ca.gov
Fax: (661) 323-0446 Ashburn

Senator Debra Bowen D - She is on the rules committee and
is also the chairperson of the Senate Elections Committee.
EMAIL ONLY
Debra@debrabowen.com -
(Ms. Bowen is mounting this case and will be busy preparing,
emails are welcomed-- See below*)
Fax (310) 318-6733 Bowen

Senator Gilbert Cedillo D
(916) 651-4022
Fax (916) 327-8817 Cedillo

This is about volume of calls logged, emails sent. 
Make the contacts and make sure this goes out to your list.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WHAT TO SAY:

Be concise, be polite, be professional. Here's your message:

You want Rules Committeesupport for subpoenas of election
industry and certification insiders to answer the Elections Committee's
questions about voting machine programming, examination and certification.

A sample letter is provided below in this email.

That's it. Short and simple. Polite, professional, firm. Short clear message.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WHO ARE THE KEY WITNESSES?

Diebold head programmers, federal testing labs (Ciber, Wyle) that
repeatedly certified flawed systems, voting system examiners who
took taxpayer money, spent hours on  so-called "security exams" on
systems a 12-year old can hack, repeatedly recommending for
certification.

BACKGROUND

The Calif. Secretary of State's office decided to certify Diebold -- again --
despite the new UC Berkeley report.

QUOTES FROM THE LATEST REPORT, COMMISSIONED BY THE STATE
OF CALIFORNIA:

"Harri Hursti's attack does work: Mr. Hursti's attack on the AV-OS
(Optical scanner)is definitely real. He was indeed able to change the
election results by doing nothing more than modifying the contents of a
memory card.  He needed no passwords, no cryptographic keys, and no
access to any other part of the voting system, including the GEMS election
management server."

-- (Comment from Black Box Voting: Note that Diebold has lied repeatedly
to election officials and secretaries of state about this. We have videotape
and documents from Diebold documenting this posted at our Web site) --

...and:

"Interpreted code is contrary to standards: Interpreted code in general is
prohibited by the 2002 FEC Voluntary Voting System Standards, and also
by the successor standard, the EAC's Voluntary Voting System Guidelines
due to take effect in two years. In order for the Diebold software architecture
to be in compliance, it would appear that either the AccuBasic language and
interpreter have to be removed, or the standard will have to be changed."

-- (Comment from Black Box Voting: Note that California can only run software
certified by the Federal ITA process, by state law. The "Berkeley team" is saying
flat-out that such certification was not done correctly. It follows that the entire
Diebold product line should be illegal under state law.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WHAT'S ALL THIS ABOUT KEY WITNESSES CHICKENING OUT?

The Feb. 16 California Senate Elections Committee hearing on certification
was hit with no-shows by ALL FOUR major vendors (Diebold, ES&S, Sequoia and
Hart Intercivic). Representatives from Wyle and Ciber testing labs also declined
to appear.   The Secretary of State's office is now "legally late" on a series of
public records requests made by California Elections Committee Chairperson
Debra Bowen. 

Sen. Bowen has to get permission from the California Senate Rules Committee to
have subpoenas issued.

Only three of the Rules Committee Senators are needed to invoke port subpoenas.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SAMPLE LETTER

Senator ____,
California Senate Election Committee

Dear Senator ____,

I urge you to take a courageous stand to issue port subpeonas to
key representatives and officials from Diebold, ES&S, Sequoia and Hart
Intercivic, as well as Wyle and Ciber Testing Labs and state voting system
examiners who fail to appear for your hearings on this matter.

I also urge you to subpoena documents as needed, including the non-
disclosure agreements signed between examiners and vendors, and
all other documents needed to assess the integrity of the certification
process.

Voters must be able to ensure that voting systems are secure from tampering,
either by outsiders or by insiders. If the citizenry cannot see for itself that
elections are secure, that our votes are being counted as we cast them, it is
only a matter of time before the very fabric of our nation is torn to pieces.

Flawed, hackable systems have been approved that violate FEC guidelines.
Some of these systems are so deeply flawed that they defy common sense.
It is imperative that the elections industry insiders who were party to the design,
examination and recommendation of these systems appear before California's
Senate Election Committee in open hearings under oath to answer questions
and address these serious concerns.

Sincerely,

[name]


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FROM CALIF. SENATE ELECTIONS COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSON BOWEN:

"We are going to need an enormous amount of people power in the next
couple of weeks.   Together we can change this whole pathetic mess.
Let's stand up for our democracy RIGHT NOW."

"Email is great because it is easy for us to log and report -- and we can
actually prove how many emails we've received!"

"Please email me in support of issuing subpoenas rather than calling 
you will save my staff a great deal of time logging calls, and you know
what kind work we have to do right now.  You can always call and
fax later!"

Debra Bowen

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THANKS EVERYONE, IN ADVANCE, FOR MAKING FIVE EXTREMELY
IMPORTANT CONTACTS FOR DEMOCRACY.

Thanks to M.S. English for collaborating with Black Box Voting to craft
this message quickly and effectively. Her Web site is recommended for
those who want to get up to speed on the history of the voting machine issue:

http://www.whoscounting.net

Recommend the Chapters on "Technology" and "The Companies" as a Primer.

For more information, see the free online chapters of Black Box Voting:
Available in .pdf format on the home page at http://www.blackboxvoting.org
(scroll down, look in right hand column)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

HERE ARE MORE LINKS YOU MAY FIND OF INTEREST:

Here is a copy of the Diebold GEMS program. Thirty million votes will be
counted on GEMS in the brutal battle for control of congress in 2006.
Be your own "federal testing lab" -- see for yourself:

http://www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/2197/10519.html

(Is this not ridiculous? You could teach a pigeon to hack the audit
log. Your 12-year-old sister and all her giggly friends can change
administrative passwords and election results.)

Details: The true scariness of the Herbert Thompson GEMS hack:
With Visual Basic script, a one-minute access by anyone -- even
years ahead of time -- can implant a trojan horse. Thompson's
script demonstrated May 2 in Leon County, Florida was able to
make "intelligent guesses" to find names and ballot questions and
then manipulate them.

http://www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/1954/19304.html?1140298038#POST17506

Article: Key Witnesses chickening out on hearing:
http://www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/2197/10519.html

More extensive article on Calif. certification issues:
http://www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/1954/19353.html

Voting system examiners blocked from telling what they know:
http://www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/1954/17717.html

Electronic voting machines: Who cooked this turkey?
http://www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/1954/14337.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

IF YOU WANT TO DO MORE:

Now comes gathering evidence in the form of public records. 

Black Box Voting will work with any who volunteer to send customized
public records request letters. We will help you learn the ropes, will
suggest strategic records to start collecting NOW to protect Election 2006.

This year, it is all about mentoring individuals to regain their power as
citizens. It takes no more effort to write a public records letter than to
write your congressman -- but when you write for public records, you
end up with something tangible: Evidence.

To participate in the 2006 Election Cleanup Crew, email
crew@blackboxvoting.org. Please allow a few days to respond, due to
our heavy schedules -- this is a one-on-one, personalized project, and
we are so very proud of the many citizens who are stepping up to the
plate.

We are quietly developing leaders in "cells" throughout the country,
helping citizens learn the skills to oversee their own government.

Event in SoFlo "Soldiers Speak Out"

From the Producers of “The Panama Deception” &
“Coverup: Behind the Iran Contra Affair”…

"SOLDIERS SPEAK OUT"

Please join our three Special Guests, all featured in
the film:
***Stan Goff – Activist writer, Veterans For Peace
***Kelly Dougherty – Leading female GI antiwar voice,
Iraq Veterans Against the War
***Camilo Mejia – Former Amnesty International
Prisoner of Conscience, Iraq Veterans Against the War

For a Fundraiser and Release Screening of Empowerment
Project’s new documentary.

“This powerful film serves a loudspeaker to the
courageous anti-war and anti-occupation movement
within the military and their families. This half-hour
documentary will serve as a counter-recruitment and
organizing tool for activists, schools, and
organizations. It provides a sober view of the war in
Iraq and an important counterpoint to the
‘stay-the-course’ rhetoric of the Bush
administration.”

Monday, February 27th
7:30 PM doors & refreshment stand open
8:00 PM screening followed by discussion with Special
Guests

Cinema Paradiso
503 SE 6th Street, Fort Lauderdale (just east of the
Broward County Courthouse)

Tickets $10 - All donations will support the “Marchin’
to New Orleans: Veterans and Survivors March to New
Orleans” taking place March 14-19, 2006.

For more information, visit www.vetgulfmarch.org &
EmpowermentProject.org / Sponsored by:
MiamiforPeace.net + AntiWarBroward.org +
EmergeMiami.com + Greenpeace Miami
(www.greenpeace.org) + Veterans For Peace Chap. 032
(www.veteransforpeace.org) + Iraq Veterans Against the
War (www.ivaw.net)

This film has been made possible through the support
of:  TopangaPeaceAlliance.org + FriendsOfFilm.com +
Citizens for Peaceful Resolutions +
CaliforniaPeaceAction.org + Global Exchange Supporters
of Ventura County + VeteransForPeace.org + AMOR
alternative2military.tripod.com + Iraq Veterans
Against the War IVAW.net + AddictedToWar.com +
NoMoreVictims.org + CAMS Coalition Against Militarism
in Our Schools + Gold Star Families for Peace gsfp.org
+ ArlingtonWestFilm.com + OfficeoftheAmericas.org +
FromTheHeartProductions.com + TopangaGreens.org +
Another World View Is Possible + USLAW
USLaborAgainstWar.org + United Teachers Los Angeles
UTLA.net + PDSMM Progressive Democrats of the Santa
Monica Mountains + ANSWER Ventura Co
answervc@riseup.net + Palisadians for Peace
PalForPeace@aol.com

****************************************************************

My Brief Interview With Cindy Sheehan That I Was Going To Publish Somewhere Else A Couple Of Weeks Ago But Didn't

Here's the first thing you need to know about Cindy Sheehan, she's not crazy. It's true that she referred to Iraqi insurgents as "freedom fighters" and eleven days after Katrina she talked about "liberating New Orleans." And the pundits have had a field day with her. Bill O'Reilly has swift-boated Cindy Sheehan to death. I had heard so many bad things about Cindy Sheehan that by the time I met her I thought she must be crazy, but she isn't.

She's tall with a heavy face and broad shoulders. She stands upright and speaks directly. She's not an academic. She takes things at face value. And when someone tells her the government is lying about something she tends to believe them because the government lied to her once and her son, Casey Sheehan, died as a result.

Casey died in the uprising in Sadr City in an ambush set by the followers of Moktada al-Sadr. Many point to this uprising as the beginning of the insurgency.

Cindy wears her grief in her eyes and her cheeks but they don't hide her basic decency. She's a mom first. She's your friend's mom and you go over to your friend's house and she's happy to see you and maybe she makes you sandwiches and then she leaves you alone. She's a good mom, you can tell. Firm, no-nonsense, but with a sense of humor. She's not polished, she's not a politician, she doesn't weigh her words. When she talks she makes sense and you know where she's coming from, even if you don't agree with her.

I meet Cindy at A Clean Well Lighted Place For Books in San Francisco. There are two hundred others in attendance. It's an older crowd from way out there on the left coast. I came to the bookstore to interview Cindy and hear her read from her new book, Not One More Mother's Child. I might have gone somewhere else, if there was a protest, some more mainstream opposition to the war. But Cindy Sheehan has emerged as the only celebrity in the anti-war movement, the only game in town. And the fundamentals and simplicity of her argument have come to appeal to more mainstream liberals like myself: It's time to pull our troops out of Iraq.

**

Me: So you have this book out, Not One More Mother's Child How's your book tour going?

Cindy: I haven't really been on book tour. I'm still working for peace, and that's a full time job. The war's not over yet. I'm very busy still doing that stuff, protesting, working to end the war in Iraq, so it's hard to arrange things like readings. My publisher wants me to do more readings but it's hard to find the extra time. I'm doing a reading at Book Passage tomorrow then I'm off to Italy to join a peace coalition there. The Italians want to get out of Iraq. I'm also going to address the European parliament. Then I fly to Venezuela, and D.C. Then I'm going back to Crawford again to start Camp Casey back up.

Me: Do you have help?

Cindy: Gold Star Families for Peace has only one staff member, my sister. She tries to help with my traveling and scheduling. We don't have the funds. I don't get paid for this.

Me: You do all this traveling alone?

Cindy: I like traveling alone.

Me: How do you finance all your travel?

Cindy: Usually the people who invite me to speak pay for my expenses. And then, about every six weeks, I do a paid speaking engagement, which more than covers my personal expenses. Before Camp Casey I used thousands of my own money, which was Casey's insurance money, to pay my travel and bills.

Me: What was the genesis of your book?

Cindy: The book is mostly things I had already written. There were all my blogs from Camp Casey. Arnie, the publisher, put them together with some speeches and interviews I'd given. Then I wrote the final chapter and some of my friends wrote forwards and introductions. (Forwards and introduction were written by Congressman John Conyers, Tom Hartmann, and Jodie Evans I'm writing another book right now. It's going to be called Peace Mom, One Mom's Journey From Apathy to Activism. Cindy Sheehan, the untold story (laughs). The purpose is to show people that if everybody just did one thing everyday who knows the kind of changes we could make?

Me: You've gotten a lot of flak for your protests. It seems like you've been given the Swift Boat treatment in spades.

Cindy: They still are swift boating me. They still persist with the thing claiming that I said that all the terrorists are freedom fighters. It's not true but once people hear something like that it's hard to get it out of their mind.

Me: You were especially hammered regarding your comments on New Orleans when the military was sent in there after Hurricane Katrina.

Cindy: I went down to New Orleans about ten days after the hurricane and it was a military occupation and I wrote an article and I said that we had to end the military occupation of New Orleans and Iraq. It was like they were training for martial law. I know some order needed to be restored but a lot of the time the military in New Orleans were used to prevent people from getting aid to other people. When I was down there they had their weapons drawn and there were machine gun nests and it was frightening.

Me (putting words in Cindy's mouth): You don't care if they're Democrat or Republican, if they're pro-war they've got to go.

Cindy (Letting me get away with it): That's right. We have a Camp Casey in Los Angeles outside of Dianne Feinstein's office because she's pro-war. There should be a Camp Casey outside her office her in San Francisco. The leading dispensable Democrat who needs to go is Joe Lieberman. We have to work for Senate candidates who for peace. Someone needs to run against Hillary Clinton.

Me: How about you?

Cindy: Not me.

Me: What are your demands?

Cindy: U.S. out of Iraq, that's the immediate goal. We need to remove all of our military presence from the Middle East. But we also have to make sure that the people of Iraq aren't abandoned. We need to help them peacefully once we take our troops out. We have to realize that all the children of the world, the Sudanese, the Iraqis, they are all our children. The anti-war movement is going to become a peace movement. We're going to change this country's paradigm. We have huge goals and we're going to need a cast of thousands. I mean millions. I'm going to work for peace for the rest of my life.

The Blog | Stephen Elliott: My Brief Interview With Cindy Sheehan That I Was Going To Publish Somewhere Else A Couple Of Week...

The Human Cost of War

The Human Cost of War

By Cindy Sheehan and Sam Bostaph

The whole world is watching a human drama that is both tragedy and travesty. As if the lessons of Vietnam had been presented to dull students and needed repeating, Americans and peoples of all nations watch as President George W. Bush's preemptive and unconstitutional war in Iraq continues. The cradle of civilization is being turned into its grave by a president whose undefined "noble cause" has thus far cost the lives of almost 3,000 American soldiers, wounded and maimed almost 20,000 more, and killed tens of thousands of Iraqis. The land that nourished the first written language and the roots of civilized political order has become a charnel house.

The defeated Iraqi army of Saddam Hussein is no longer the enemy in George Bush's unjust war; its place has been taken by insurgent forces, as well as by al Qaeda and other groups who use the country as a battlefield and guerrilla training ground for their own troops. Added to the tragedy in Iraq is the travesty of Bush's "War on Terror" -- a formless justification for the growth of federal government power and the steady erosion of our Bill of Rights through warrantless searches, illegal spying, kidnapping and torture, and imprisonment without either trial or conviction.

American soldiers -- courageous, dedicated and trained to fight to preserve our freedoms, and raised to believe in the importance of a virtuous life -- are fighting under Rules of Engagement that permit the use of such destructive retaliatory force that they cannot avoid the commission of atrocities against helpless civilians. American Marines -- always prepared to be "the first to fight" and whose motto is "semper fidelis" -- are being used for immoral ends by an administration that has proven faithless to the people of the country it pretends to represent.

And what has this corruption of the best of our youth in an immoral military debacle cost? In trying to answer this question, we submit that the least significant costs are those that can be quantified. The most recent and most general attempt to estimate both the direct and indirect costs of George Bush's war is that of economists Linda Bilmes and Joe Stiglitz, who summarized their estimate in a paper presented at the January 2006 meetings in Boston of the American Economic Association.

Bilmes and Stiglitz present a "moderate" estimate of $1.3 trillion for past and expected federal budget outlays related to this unnecessary war. This includes military operations, reconstruction, foreign aid and enhanced base security for the military bases in Iraq. Currently, the monthly average cost of military operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan is $7.1 billion -- enough in one year of expenditure to rebuild the city of New Orleans, including levees that would withstand category 5 hurricanes.

In calculating their estimate of the total of direct and indirect costs of the war, Bilmes and Stiglitz include an estimate of the economic value of American soldiers killed and wounded, and the estimated future costs of caring for those wounded, while excluding any calculations of similar costs for other countries, including Iraqi soldiers, civilians and insurgents killed or wounded. They include the direct and indirect costs of the American military arms and equipment used and destroyed, but not that of the destruction to the land and economy of the Iraqis. They include the increased costs of providing greater security for military bases, but not the costs of increased counter-intelligence activities by the National Security Agency, the Central Intelligence Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Bilmes and Stiglitz admit that they were unable to include most of the economic costs associated with Bush's war; for instance, they omit the damage to international trade and the standard of living in the world as a consequence of the increased trade barriers imposed in the "War on Terror". They omit the economic damage caused by higher prices for oil because of decreased production in the Middle East, and the consequent lower production of other goods and services as energy expenditures replace others in budgeting. They omit the loss of investment expenditures in the American economy as military spending replaces domestic spending and interest payments on debt from deficit spending on the war crowd out business borrowing.

If all economic costs could be included, Bilmes and Stiglitz speculate that their estimate of the Iraq war costs would rise to $2.2 trillion. We submit that this is still too low because it fails to allow for the fact that military expenditures are expenditures for destruction, not for the creation of value and increases in the standard of living. Resources wasted in the destruction of human life and property, are resources that cannot be used for building houses or feeding the hungry. It also fails to allow for the demoralization and destruction of the whole American military establishment that is one of the seldom-mentioned results of fighting this immoral, pointless and savage war.

To reach their cost estimates, Bilmes and Stiglitz had to make a number of restrictive assumptions, a change in any one of which would greatly change the results of their calculations. The only unimpeachable fact and undeniably true statement in their entire paper is a concluding remark that "the most important things in life -- like life itself -- are priceless." And what do they recommend for the future? Like a slap in the face of all that is moral and good in humankind and its potential for greatness, Bilmes and Stiglitz urge BETTER COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS before undertaking future wars!

How does one react to the recognition that life is priceless, but a price should be put upon it for the purpose of deciding whether to make war? It can only be with outrage. We are outraged that a war should be considered as anything but a last resort, fought in defense and after an attack by an organized and dangerous enemy bent on our destruction or conquest. We are outraged that a pre-emptive and poorly thought-out invasion of a foreign country was undertaken under a pretense that was subsequently revealed to be a pack of lies. We are outraged at the incalculable human cost of the invasion and occupation of Iraq. We are outraged that human and other resources desperately needed to respond to the Gulf Coast disaster last fall were instead in Iraq, being used for the wasting and occupation of that country.

Outrage is what Cindy was feeling when she toured the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans in mid-February. Outrage, sorrow, horror and sickness over the destruction she saw there. A destruction that is both complete and profound. A destruction that was made worse by poor preparation at all levels of government. Miles and miles of collapsed houses, overturned cars and toys alike flung far and wide: miles and miles of proof of the incompetence and callousness of government.

Cindy was in New Orleans as people were being kicked out of their subsidized FEMA housing while hundreds of millions of dollars of "FEMAtrailers" sat in lots and on railroad cars waiting for a place to be parked. She listened to Richard Skinner of Homeland Security say on CNN that FEMA is spending "eight to ten million dollars" to spread gravel on a lot in Arkansas so that the 11,000 trailers that should be in the Gulf States, but are parked on that lot, won't sink into the mud while they sit. She saw hundreds of units of low income housing in St. Bernard's Parish that could be rehabilitated with some sheetrock and paint, but are sitting empty and useless. Hundreds of residents could return to their homes for what it would cost for 18 months use of two of those empty trailers -- each of which is estimated by the Times-Picayune to cost as much as $120,000.

Cindy left New Orleans depressed and missing her son, Casey, even more. Like other American soldiers, Casey was raised to understand the importance of a virtuous life. He neither sought, nor wanted, to kill innocent people in Iraq, and he voiced this often during his last visit home at Christmas, 2003. On April 4, 2004, he was killed while on a rescue mission to retrieve wounded comrades in arms. Casey came home to be buried, as have almost 3000 others in the last three years.

But, what of those soldiers who come home wounded or unscathed? To what do they return? They come home to a Veterans Administration that is inadequately funded for the job it has to do. Too many come home to divorce, to become homeless, to die by their own hands. Iraq War veterans come home to a VA that has failed even to provide the benefits due veterans of the Vietnam War -- a war that has since claimed more veterans through suicide than were killed fighting.

Like the water that poured over the weak and compromised levees in New Orleans, the human lives and money that are being poured into the sands of distant Iraq are harming our very humanity. Rather than accolades, the American people are receiving worldwide hatred in return. Rather than greater security, they are receiving less. Rather than expanding freedom in the world, they are losing their own to a mindless expansion of federal government power.

Life is priceless. The present value of all the future income Casey Sheehan might have earned is miniscule compared to the value he had to himself, to Cindy, to his father, to his brother and sisters -- to all his family and friends. Multiply that way of valuing Casey by 3000 killed, 20,000 wounded, and thousands mentally damaged orembittered for life and you get an obscenity. This is the human cost of war.

Cindy Sheehan is the proud mother of Spc. Casey Austin Sheehan who was 24 when he was KIA in Sadr City, Iraq on 04/04/04. She is also the author of Not One More Mother's Child available at www.koabooks.com. Cindy is the founder and President of Gold Star Families for Peace. Cindy is above all the very proud mother of Carly, Andy, and Janey Sheehan who hold down the fort in California.

Sam Bostaph, Ph.D., is Pofessor of Economics and Chairman, Department of Economics, University of Dallas. He is the author of numerous scholarly articles on topics in intellectual history, economic theory and economic theory. A former Marine, who later served as a U.S. Army intelligence staff officer during the Vietnam War era, he is the proud father of Katie and Megan Bostaph and prays that they may never go to war themselves.

Dear Gold Star Families for Peace Supporters

Sign on today! Please join women and men from all over the world who have launched an Urgent Call for Peace in Iraq. CODEPINK: Women for Peace,is gathering over 100,000 signatures on this Call, and we need your signature, and your help, to do it! On International Women's Day, March 8, we will deliver these signatures to U.S. embassies, consulates, and federal offices all over the world. 

CODEPINK has been struggling since before the war in Iraq began to build a movement for peace across borders. We marched with you on February 15, 2003 and have been fighting with you to end the war ever since!  As the human toll of war increases, and the peace movement gains momentum, we are standing up in increasing numbers with our international sisters and brothers to say ENOUGH to war and violence. Please join us in demanding peace now!

You can help by signing the Call today at http://www.womensaynotowar.org/ , and spreading the word through your email lists.  We also hope you’ll consider joining us on March 8 in Washington DC, or joining an action in your town. Visit http://www.womensaynotowar.org/ for details.

In Solidarity Towards Peace,

Medea Benjamin, Gael Murphy, and Jodie Evans
Co-founders of CODEPINK Women for Peace

P.S. There are many more ways to get involved! You can add a beautiful pink link to the petition on your organization’s website by downloading the banner at http://www.womensaynotowar.org/article.php?id=698. If you would like more information about this campaign, please email info@womensaynotowar.org.

Women’s Call for Peace: An Urgent Appeal

We, the women of the United States, Iraq and women worldwide, have had enough of the senseless war in Iraq and the cruel attacks on civilians around the world. We’ve buried too many of our loved ones. We’ve seen too many lives crippled forever by physical and mental wounds. We’ve watched in horror as our precious resources are poured into war while our families’ basic needs of food, shelter, education and heathcare go unmet. We’ve had enough of living in constant fear of violence and seeing the growing cancer of hatred and intolerance seep into our homes and communities.
 
This is not the world we want for ourselves or our children. With fire in our bellies and love in our hearts, we women are rising up—across borders—to unite and demand an end to the bloodshed and the destruction.
 
We have seen how the foreign occupation of Iraq has fueled an armed movement against it, perpetuating an endless cycle of violence. We are convinced that it is time to shift from a military model to a conflict-resolution model that includes the following elements:


The withdrawal of all foreign troops and foreign fighters from Iraq;

• Negotiations to reincorporate disenfranchised Iraqis intoallaspects of Iraqi society;
• The full representation of women in the peacemaking process andacommitment to women’s full equality in the post-war Iraq;
• A commitment to discard plans for any foreign bases in Iraq;
• Iraqi control of its oil and other resources;
• The nullification of privatization and deregulation lawsimposedunder occupation, allowing Iraqis to shape the trajectory of thepost-wareconomy;
• A massive reconstruction effort that prioritizes Iraqicontractors,and draws upon financial resources of the countriesresponsible for theinvasion and occupation of Iraq;
• Consideration of a temporary international peacekeeping forcethatis truly multilateral and is not composed of any troops fromcountriesthat participated in the occupation.
  

To move this peace process forward, we are creating a massive movement of women—crossing generations, races, ethnicities, religions, borders and political persuasions. Together, we will pressure our governments, the United Nations, the Arab League, Nobel Peace Prize winners, religious leaders and others in the international community to step forward to help negotiate a political settlement. And in this era of divisive fundamentalisms, we call upon world leaders to join us in spreading the fundamental values of love for the human family and for our precious planet.

Our Special Day

Today is a very special day for me. Since a young child, the only thing I ever wanted to be was a mommy. It took me several years and many loss pregnancies before my very special little man was born (2 weeks late), on my birthday. 8 years ago today was the happiest day of my life. They joy I felt holding my little Dean in my arms for the first time will never leave me. We were given a special bond being born on the same day.  My little bundle of love.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAN-0-BAMBINO. I couldn't have asked for a better son than you. I am so thankful for you, my precious little man.

Our weekend trip to Naples

             

Peace Everyone!  Enjoy Your Moments!            

Our Actions have REACTIONS!

HOW MUCH HATE DO YOU THINK WE HAVE CREATED? HOW MUCH OF THIS HATE IS GOING TO BLOW US UP IN OUR FUTURE?

The photos America doesn't want seen - World - smh.com.au

By Matthew Moore
February 15, 2006

MORE photographs have been leaked of Iraqi citizens tortured by US soldiers at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison on the outskirts of Baghdad.

Tonight the SBS Dateline program plans to broadcast about 60 previously unpublished photographs that the US Government has been fighting to keep secret in a court case with the American Civil Liberties Union.

Although a US judge last year granted the union access to the photographs following a freedom-of-information request, the US Administration has appealed against the decision on the grounds their release would fuel anti-American sentiment.

Some of the photos are similar to those published in 2004, others are different. They include photographs of six corpses, although the circumstances of their deaths are not clear. There are also pictures of what appear to be burns and wounds from shotgun pellets.

The executive producer of Dateline, Mike Carey, said he was showing the pictures leaked to his program because it was important people understood what had happened at Abu Ghraib.

Seven US guards were jailed following publication of the first batch of Abu Ghraib photographs in April 2004.

Mr Carey said he could not explain why the photographs had not yet been published, as he thought it was likely that some journalists had them.

"It think it's strange, maybe they think its more of the same."

■ The Daily Telegraph, London reports: A British soldier who is believed to have filmed fellow troops assaulting Iraqi civilians has been arrested, the Ministry of Defence said on Monday. The ministry had not confirmed whether he was being questioned as a witness or a suspect.

The best kind of love to have

Is the love you have for yourself. Happy Valentines Day

May Peace be inside all of us

For the Love of God, Can't you Make him Stop?! by Cindy Sheehan

For the Love of God, Can't you Make him Stop?!

By Cindy Sheehan

Former President George Bush took a shot at protestor Cindy Sheehan on Friday while speaking to students at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.

Bush told the audience if she shows up to their church as expected she'll have to deal with his wife Barbara.
--KVET News, Central Texas:

On President's Day (Feb 20th), Gold Star Families for Peace, Veterans for Peace, and Code Pink are sponsoring an action in Houston, Tx. near the elder Bush's estate called, "For the Love of God. Can't you make him stop?"

We will be demonstrating in front of George Sr. and Bar's church, St. Martin's Episcopal Church in Houston from 4pm to 7pm on President's Day on Monday, February 20th. And we have something to say to the Bush family (who apparently send their women to fight their battles): "Bring Her On."

Mrs. Bush can read my sign with a big picture of my son, Casey, on it which will read: "Your Son Killed My Son, Make him Stop!"

George, Sr. says that I will have to deal with Barbara. Well, SHE will have to deal with me and she will have to deal with:

• Amy Branham, whose son, Jeremy, was killed while in training to be deployed to Iraq;
• Juan Torres, whose son, John, was killed in Afghanistan while he was trying to expose the active drug trade on his post;
• Beatriz Saldivar, whose nephew, Daniel Torres, was killed in Iraq;
• Dede Miller, whose nephew, Casey, was killed in Iraq;
• and Bill Mitchell, whose son, Michael, was killed in the same incident in Iraq that my son was killed in.

We have some questions for Barbara so we hope she will come. Here are a few of our questions:

If you think that this war is such a noble cause why aren't any of your children, or grandchildren in combat over in Iraq?

Do you think that any of us wanted to trouble our pretty minds with images of flag draped coffins? Only for us, they weren't images. They were actual flag draped coffins carrying our dear loved ones. Not only are we troubled by these images, they are imprinted on our heartsand souls forever.

About how much money do you think the Bush family has raped from America over the years from war profiteering?

Did you ever wash Little George's mouth out with soap for lying?

Lately, we have heard from Larry Wilkerson how the intelligence and all of the pre-invasion posturing was a hoax how do you think that makes us feel? Our children are dead because of a trick played on the world by your son and his administration.

How many innocent Iraqis have died and how many are your family willing to have die before the travesty in Iraq ends?

I am sure that we will think of many more questions between now and next week.

So, we Gold Star Families for Peace, invite you Mrs. Barbara Bush, to a Tea Party in front of your church on Feb. 20, 2006 at 4pm in the afternoon. Come and deal with us. We welcome the opportunity to speak with you.

We will set an extra place at our Tea Party for Truth for you. Come join us.

 

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SPEAK OUT FOR PEACE!

Join us for an evening PEACE RALLY in The Woodlands

Cindy Sheehan
And
The Gold Star
Families
For Peace

February 19, 2006
Sunday 7:00 p.m.
Montgomery College Theatre
Building D
Montgomery College
3200 College Park Dr.
The Woodlands, TX

Event sponsors include the North Houston Peace Group, Gold Star Families for Peace, Potlucks for Peace and Concerned Citizens of Montgomery County.

Montgomery College Road Map

Directions to Montgomery College:
To Montgomery College from NORTH:
- Take I-45 south to exit #79 (Needham Rd./Hwy. 242/College Park Dr.).
- Turn right (away from interstate) and head approximately 1/4 mile.
- Main college entrance is on the right.
To Montgomery College from SOUTH:
- Take I-45 north to exit #79 (Needham Rd./Hwy. 242/College Park Dr.).
- Turn left under interstate and head approximately 1/4 mile.
- Main college entrance is on the right.
*****************************************************************

 

Sheehan speaks at local church

Protesters gather to support troops

By DAMIANE RICKS
Advocate staff writer
Published: Feb 13, 2006

While Gold Star Mother Cindy Sheehan was inside the Unitarian Church of Baton Rouge on Sunday, condemning the war in Iraq, about a dozen Blue Star Mothers and others gathered outside to encourage support for troops serving overseas.

Sheehan made headlines last year when she and members of her organization, Gold Star Families for Peace, camped outside President Bush’s Crawford, Texas, ranch, unsuccessfully demanding a meeting with the president after her son, U.S. Army Spc. Casey Sheehan, was killed in action in Iraq on April 4, 2004.

Sheehan, who is calling for the immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq, said the emotional effects of the war make the number of U.S. casualties higher than the 2,267 reportedly killed in action to date.

“It doesn’t matter if they come back whole, all of them are a casualty of this war,” she said. “I wonder if the people across the street know anything about this: the true human cost of the war.”

Gold Star Mothers are mothers who have lost a child in the service of the country. Blue Star Mothers are mothers who now have, or have had, children serving in the military.

Blue Star Mother Martha Leblanc of Baton Rouge, whose son returned home two weeks ago from serving in Iraq with the 3rd Infantry Division, said she supports her son’s decision to serve in the military.

Sheehan said to the more than 100 in attendance at the church forum that “joining the military can be honorable, but you don’t join when there are irresponsible leaders in the administration, like George Bush.”

The Blue Star group stood on the sidewalk across the street from the church, waving American flags and “Support our Troops” banners decorated with yellow ribbons.

Janet Broussard, president of Blue Star Mothers of Louisiana, held a sign that read, “Honor, Respect, Never Forget Our Fallen.” Passing automobiles, honking their support, could be heard from inside the church.

Broussard insisted their presence was not in opposition to Sheehan, but rather to promote support for “our troops.”

“I don’t agree with her,” Broussard said, “but I’m not going to talk bad about her. She lost her child.”

Sheehan was joined by retired Col. Ann Wright, a 26-year veteran of the U.S. Army who worked for 16 years as a U.S. diplomat until she resigned in opposition to the war.

Both women arrived at the church wearing large black T-shirts similar to the one Sheehan wore Jan. 31 when she was detained by police before the President’s State of the Union Address earlier this month. The message on the shirt: “2,245 Dead. How many more?”

Wright’s T-shirt Sunday had the number updated to 2,267.

“What happened to me on Jan. 31 should shock, anger and scare you,” Sheehan said, claiming her civil rights were violated.
Wright criticized the federal government’s practice of monitoring international phone calls within the country. She said she is sure Sheehan’s calls have been monitored.

“Would you like our cell phone numbers? Everyone else seems to have them,” she joked.

Clyde Johnson, a Baton Rouge resident and a member of the church, said he supports Sheehan’s call for the immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.

“I grieve at the number of young lives lost on both sides for no real reason that would make this world a better place that I can see,” Johnson said.

Rachel Patineau, 66, of Baton Rouge, echoed Johnson’s sentiment.

“I am very pleased to see the opportunity for people to hear about the atrocities of this war,” she said. “I’m grateful for the church providing the community to hear this.”

The Rev. Steve Crump said the church, which has many views among its membership, does not endorse Sheehan’s views.
“We’re just providing a forum for her viewpoint,” Crump said. “I think the status quo is what we often hear from the Defense Department and the administration, so this is just another viewpoint in the spirit of fairness.”

Crump said Sheehan belongs to a club of increasing numbers in Louisiana of parents who have lost children in the military in this war.

“I’d say most Americans disagree with her, but she’s become a symbol of hatred,” he said. “She’s a citizen simply speaking her mind.”

Crump said if anti-Sheehan activists wanted to use the church as a forum for their views, he would try to meet their request.

Today, Sheehan will take part in a forum titled “Two Perspectives: The War in Iraq” from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at LSU’s Manship School of Mass Communication. Representing the other perspective will be U.S. Marine Corps Col. David Couvillon.