|
 |
We
can build a better world.
Make
history by combining your talent with
WAND's resources. Go to our special
web guide for voter registration, education, and mobilization.
WAND Vote 2004! |
| 
|
PRESIDENTIAL
DEBATE SCHEDULE
Click
here for more information.
First presidential debate:
University of Miami, Coral Gables,
FL
Thursday, September 30
Vice
presidential debate:
Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland,
OH
Tuesday, October 5
Second
presidential debate:
Washington University in St. Louis,
St. Louis, MO
Friday, October 8
Third
presidential debate:
Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
Wednesday, October 13 |
DEFEND
DEMOCRACY: Protect the 2004 Election
Election Protection Volunteer
 |
A
message from Michael Kieschnick, Working
Assets President (excerpt)
Dear friend,
On November 2, I will be defending
democracy by monitoring a polling place
with a friend. For the first
time in my life, I will vote absentee
and then fly or drive to where I am most
needed. On November 2, voters will decide
the direction of our country for years
to come. But only if every vote counts.
I hope that you and your friends will
join me and many others as an Election
Protection Volunteer.
Click
here to sign up now and volunteer
where you're needed most on November 2.
Thank you. |
 |
VOTER
MOBILIZATION VOLUNTEER TRAININGS
By the Center for Progressive Leadership
Ann Arbor, MI: Sat, Sept 18 |
Washington, DC: Sat, Oct 2
Pittsburgh, PA: Sat, Oct 2 | Philadelphia,
PA: Sun, Oct 3
Phoenix, AZ: Sun, Oct 10
Register online at: www.progressleaders.org/vmt04.
INFO / To Get Involved: Center for Progressive
Leadership
phone: 202-449-1065, jwheeler@progressleaders.org
|
 |
November
2
NOVEMBER
2 is a nationwide media campaign created
by National Voice, a coalition of non-profit
and community groups working to maximize
public participation in our democratic
process. WAND is a co-sponsor of November
2. Check out this fabulous website to
see how you can be involved: www.november2.org. INFO:
1-866-VOTE-NOV2. |
 |
Volunteer - National Voice
electionMatch
ElectionMatch.org
is an election volunteer service of National
Voice: www.electionmatch.org.
Register yourself or others! ElectionMatch
connects volunteers with 501(c)(3) voter
mobilization activities. National Voice
is a coalition of community groups and
nonpartisan non-profits dedicated to increasing
civic participation. INFO: www.nationalvoice.org
or 1-866-868-3668 (toll free) |
|
UPDATE:
A Growing Insurgency
“When
you push the Iraqi people, and you
harm the Iraqi people, you will just
cause them to fight back harder. The
idea that force will be enough to
calm the Iraqis is a false dream.”
– Harith al-Dhari, chair of the Association
of Muslim Scholars, which represents
hundreds of Sunni clerics |
With
just four months to go before nationwide
elections in Iraq, the insurgency has
grown more powerful, sophisticated, and
widespread. U.S. forces have ceded control
to insurgents in a number of cities.
American
commanders are trying to regain control
through aggressive military operations,
but this get-tough response is alienating
both Iraqis and allies like Turkey.
Osama Ali, who recently witnessed a fierce
battle between insurgents and U.S. soldiers
in which Iraqi civilians were killed and
wounded, explained, “When the Americans
fire back, they don’t hit the people who
are attacking them, only the civilians.
This is why Iraqis hate the Americans
so much. This is why we love the mujahadeen.”
U.S.
diplomats acknowledge the difficulty of
holding elections in towns under insurgent
control – Falluja and Ramadi in the Sunni
triangle, the Sadr City section of Bagdad,
and Shiite-dominated cities to the south
where Mr. Sadr and his Mahdi Army refuse
to give up their guns. Yet democratic
elections offer the best hope of easing
anti-American feelings and setting the
stage for eventual withdrawal.
Meanwhile,
the death toll for U.S. troops killed
in Iraq has reached more than 1,000.
The
New York Times, 9/14/04
|
|
A
LOOK AT 1000 WHO DIED
Interactive Graphic
The New York Times
Click
here |
EXTRAORDINARY
RENDITION
 |
Rep.
Ed Markey (D-MA), a senior member
of the Select Committee on Homeland
Security, has introduced legislation,
H.R. 4674, to stop an extra-judicial
CIA practice of sending terrorism
suspects to foreign governments
known to engage in torture.
In
introducing the legislation, Rep.
Markey said:
|
| “The
prison abuses at Abu Ghraib were
a national disgrace and have rightly
been the subject of anger and condemnation.
But another torture practice continues
to go on without any public attention.
Under the name ‘extraordinary rendition,’
the CIA reportedly sends terrorism
suspects, sometimes on the flimsiest
of evidence, to foreign countries
that are known to employ torture
in prisoner interrogation. This
practice is against all U.S. and
international law and is a moral
outrage, and it must be stopped.” |
ACTION. Contact
your House member and urge him/her to
co-sponsor H.R. 4674.
Capitol
Switchboard: 202-225-3121.
Press
Release: click here.
|
IRAQ
WAR COSTS
Project
Billboard and the Center for American Progress
have released a new analysis of war costs
and unveiled a billboard in Times Square.
The report outlines “Opportunity Costs”
-- i.e. security projects that could have
been undertaken if the $144.4 billion pledged
to date had not gone into the Iraq war and
occupation.
INFO:
click
here. |
 |
America’s
Checkbook: Priorities Clear As Congress Continues
Work on New Budget
Congress
returned after Labor Day to face twelve of thirteen
unfinished appropriations bills for the fiscal
year that begins October 1, fiscal year 2005
(FY05). The White House and congressional leaders
have set a goal of limiting discretionary spending
(i.e. the money that goes to the 13 appropriations
bills) in FY05 to $821 billion.
The
one appropriations bill that has been passed
is the Defense Appropriations bill. The Department
of Defense will receive over half of all discretionary
spending - $416 billion – leaving many domestic
programs to face cuts or increases below inflation.
For
example, the House approved a bill last week
that would:
- Cut
the president’s request for public schools
under “No Child Left Behind,” and deny more
than $100 million for new education initiatives.
- Grant
only one-fifth of the president’s $250 million
request for a new jobs-training program.
- Cut
a variety of grants to rural hospitals and
clinics.
- Cut
$70 million from Americorp.
Source:
The Wall Street Journal, 9/13/04
ACTION.
WAND is following the budget closely,
asking why $416 billion* flows without
question to the military while hospitals and schools
are starved for funds. This budget does not reflect
our needs and values, and we are working for change. Please
join us.
Total
Pentagon spending for FY05 is close to $450
billion, plus an anticipated $60 - 75 billion
in extra money for ongoing operations in Iraq
and Afghanistan. In addition to $416.2
billion for the Department of Defense, there
is $19 billion for the Department of Energy’s
nuclear weapons programs, and $9.5 billion for
military construction.
DEFICIT
NUMBERS
On
September 7, the Congressional Budget Office
projected a $422 billion federal budget
deficit for fiscal year 2004.
The
New York Times (9/8/04) points out that the
deficit will reach 3.6 percent of the gross
domestic product this year, which it observes
is not as big a percentage of GDP as the deficits
of the 1980s and early 1990s. On this point
(i.e. the deficit viewed as a percentage of
GDP), the editors of the Washington Post offer
a different perspective:
| “…the
deficit as a slice of the gross domestic
product is the more telling indicator. But
the size of this year’s deficit is masked
by the surplus in the Social Security trust
funds; without that ample padding…the deficit
would be more than 5 percent of GDP rather
than 3.8 percent, far closer to the worrisome
1983 record of 6 percent, when the Social
Security trust fund was empty. So a true
apples-to-apples comparison is hardly reassuring.”
(A Record Deficit, 8/5/04) |
Deficit
problems will grow as baby boomers retire and
Social Security and Medicare costs rise dramatically.
The CBO projects that spending on the two
programs will nearly double over the next 10
years.
Surplus
and Deficit: 10-Year Projection When
President Bush took office, the Congressional
Budget Office (CBO) was forecasting $5.6 trillion
in budget surpluses over the next decade. Now
CBO projects a 10-year federal deficit (2005-2014)
of $2.3 trillion.
MEDICARE
PREMIUMS
Medicare
premiums jumped a record 17.5 percent in early
September. According to the editors of
the Washington Post, there are two ways
to read this:
"The
first is to say that Medicare remains a bargain.
Premiums may have risen 17.5 percent, but this
is only because costs are also increasing: The
Medicare law sets premiums at 25 percent of
the projected cost of doctors' visits and outpatient
services for an elderly beneficiary. Moreover,
the 25 percent rate is lower than it used to
be, and many who can't afford the increased
payment, $78.20 a month, will get some or all
of the bill paid by the Medicaid program.
Viewed
this way, the scandal is not that premiums have
risen. It is that they remain too subsidized,
at least for better-off retirees. Why
should comfortable seniors be subsidized by
today's workers, millions of whom lack insurance,
and by the children of those workers, who will
eventually inherit the debts created by unaffordable
entitlement programs?
There is another
way of reading last week's news, however. The
Bush administration, which has presided over
hefty premium increases in recent years before
the latest record one, is failing to manage
Medicare's costs. In the late 1990s, costs were
contained successfully: Medicare premiums
actually fell slightly between 1995 and 2000.
Between 2000 and 2005, by contrast, premiums
are on pace to rise by a cumulative 72 percent."
What
to do? The editors write:
"Researchers
at Dartmouth Medical School have demonstrated
that Medicare's costs could be cut by about
30 percent if the nation were to match the efficiency
of its most cost-effective regions.
Because Medicare costs are projected to grow
rapidly as the baby boomers retire and as new
technology expands the range of health services,
opportunities to save money need to be seized."
Source: "The Medicare Challenge,"
The Washington Post, 9/8/04
 |
WAND Attends UN Millenium Conference and Leads Workshop: "Women
and Veterans Speaking for Peace
and Development"
Report from WAND Board Member and UN Delegate Sayre Sheldon
|
WAND had a presence at the recent UN Conference, "Millenium Development
Goals: Civil Society Takes Action."
This conference is an annual fall event,
bringing thousands of NGO representatives
from around the world. The millenium
goals were adopted in 2000 and this
year's conference was essentially an
assessment of how far these goals have
progressed and a plan for grassroots
groups to push them forward.
Needless to say, with so much strife and disruption in the world, the time-table
for "achieving universal primary
education" or "promoting gender
equality" or "eradicating
extreme poverty and hunger" --
three of the eight goals -- is
way behind schedule.
As a member of the Working Group on Women Peace and Security, I helped
organize and was moderator for one of
the thirty mid-day workshops.
Our workshop, "Women and Veterans Speaking for Peace and Development"
attracted a good group and plenty of
discussion. The audience heard from
an Israeli major about the Courage
to Refuse movement: soldiers who
have signed a statement saying they
can no longer serve in the occupied
territories. The vice president of Veterans
for Peace described their project
of restoring water plants in Iraq.
A member of the Peacewoman Project of WILPF provided moving testimonies
from women in conflict zones and
the ways in which the implementation
of UN Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace
and Security could provide protection
and enable women to return to productive
lives. I began by saying none of the
millenium goals have a chance if there
is no peace and held up the WAND pie
chart to show how military budgets rob
all of us of real security. |
 |
Emerge
– Women Leaders For A Democratic Future
A political training program for
Democratic women in the Bay Area.
Emerge just graduated its second class
and has three alumnae on ballots this
November (water board, school board
and city council races). Learn
more: www.emergeca.org.
Also: www.emergeaz.org
|
MISSILE
DEFENSE TEST DELAY, BUT INSISTENCE ON PUSHING
THE GO BUTTON
"This
has been a program so fraught with political
calculation, rather than strategic and
scientific thought, that I would assume
there's some political aspect to the delay.
If you're not confident enough
to take a chance on a test, how can you
say that this can engage successfully
in a real operational mission?"
-- Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), Armed Services
Committee member |
 |
ACTION.
On October 1, missile defense
officially goes “on alert.” It
is so important that WAND members
understand and speak out about the
ills of this system: the administration’s
denial, the destabilizing effect of
missile defense on national security,
and the billions of taxpayer dollars
being lost. Please review this information
and take action.
|
1.
Write letters to the editor pointing out
the wrong-headedness of making the missile
defense system operational before it has been
properly tested and proven effective. Use
talking points from this update and Victoria
Sampson op-ed below.
2.
Call your elected officials and insist
that your tax dollars not be spent on missile
defense deployment until it has been properly
tested and proven effective.
Capitol
Switchboard: 202-224-3121.
UPDATE
On
September 13, 2004, the Air Force announced
that the next missile defense flight test,
scheduled for late September, had been postponed.
Nonetheless it continues pushing forward to
begin operating the system this fall, even
though it will not have been flight-tested
since December 2002.
So the Bush administration is proceeding with
deployment after only eight intercept tests
-- all held before Bush's decision 21 months
ago to start fielding a system in 2004. Of
those eight tests, five were hits, but all
occurred under heavily scripted conditions.
All also involved a surrogate booster that
flew only half as fast as the booster that
will be used in the system. That booster has
been launched successfully several times,
but it has never flown attached to an actual
kill vehicle.
Pentagon officials are expressing a wide range
of opinions about whether or not the system
will work. The Pentagon's chief weapons evaluator
estimates that the system may be capable of
hitting its targets only about 20 percent
of the time. The Missile Defense Agency (MDA)
estimates a success rate of greater than 80
percent.
Critics
accuse the administration of delaying the
test for political reasons, not wanting to
risk an embarrassing failure during the presidential
campaign. But an MDA official said that modifications
to the test interceptor, and a software glitch
in the flight computer of the interceptor's
booster rocket, were the reasons for the delay.
Source:
"Test of Missile Defense System Delayed
Again"
By
Bradley Graham, The Washington Post, 9/14/04
READING
"Sorry,
those new missiles don't work"
By
Victoria Samson, Research Analyst, Center
for Defense Information
First
appeared in The Topeka Capital-Journal, 4/26/04
Excerpts
below. | Full
text: click
here
| …It
is a great exaggeration to say that
a missile defense "system"
is being deployed this year, as the
technologies involved are so undeveloped
that they have not been experimented
with all at once, much less gone through
rigorous testing ..
The interceptor missile...made
intercepts during only five out of eight
tries during testing...But those intercepts
were only achieved because the testers
knew when the target was going to be
launched, what it would look like, where
it was going to fly, and how fast it
would be going. It is doubtful that
a hostile nation would be so obliging
as to give us similar information.
…The new booster rocket, needed
to get the interceptor in position,
performed so horridly in its early development
that a second rocket contract was awarded
to another company. The alternate booster
vehicle's development has progressed
slightly further, but it has yet to
make an intercept.
...the radars needed to give
the new missile defense system the capability
to discriminate between real targets
and decoys. These radars don't exist
now -- and won't, for many years to
come.
With so many missing, incomplete, and
crude components, it boggles the mind
that the government would put this missile
defense system out in the field. |
Also
by Victoria Samson – "Wobbling
toward missile defense: ready or not, here
we come” | Click
here.
NUCLEAR
WEAPONS: Debate and Votes Steer Future U.S.
Policy
 |
ACTION. The
Senate Energy and Water Appropriations
bill is being finalized. Contact
Senators and urge them to
cut funding for new nuclear weapons
in the FY05 Energy and Water Appropriations
bill.
It is especially important to contact
members of the Appropriations
Committee.
Capitol
Switchboard: 202-224-3121.
|
BACKGROUND.
The Bush Administration has
assigned nuclear weapons a central role
in U.S. national security. This
includes a push to develop new, more useable
nuclear weapons in the form of a bunker
busting nuclear weapon (the Robust Nuclear
Earth Penetrator) and the Advanced Concepts
Initiative, which could include research
on low yield nuclear weapons, i.e. "mini-nukes."
ACTION
IN THE HOUSE AND SENATE. The
full House followed the lead of the House
Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and
Water, cutting funds for new nuclear weapons
and granting funds to non-proliferation
programs – a very positive development.
The Senate is expected to provide a level
of funding for new nuclear weapons closer
to what the President requested. Then the
differences between House and Senate positions
will be worked out in a House-Senate conference
committee.
 |
VIDEO
CARTOON: Mark Fiore on the "bunker
buster"
Fiore presents: Fahrenheit
200,000,000 | Click
here. |
BAN
ON SEMIAUTOMATIC ASSAULT WEAPONS ENDS
A
federal ban on semiautomatic assault rifles,
which has been in place since 1994, expired
Monday, September 13. The 1994 law banned
the sale to civilians of 19 types of semiautomatic
weapons, including semiautomatic versions
of the Intratec Tec-9 pistol and Uzi submachine
gun. The Senate approved a renewal of the
ban earlier this year. House GOP leaders did
not back an extension of the ban, and President
Bush -- who said during the 2000 campaign
that he would support an extension -- did
not push the issue.
A report by the Consumer Federation of America,
which favors greater regulation of the gun
industry, concludes that "assault weapons
will be more lethal and less expensive"
without the ban and argues that police "may
be forced to adopt a more militaristic approach"
as greater numbers of firearms flood the market.
The report cites examples of recent sales
pitches by gun manufacturers, which have indicated
that they plan to revive models and features
outlawed by the ban. E.g. Beretta has been
offering customers two free 15-round magazines
after Sept. 14 with the purchase of two of
its weapons, according to an advertisement.
Source:
"Enthusiasts Eye Assault Rifles as Ban
Nears End"
By Dan Eggen, The Washington Post (9/8/04)
|
NOTABLE
NATIONAL / INTERNATIONAL EVENTS |
For
additional events, visit the Moving Ideas
website: click
here.
|
|
TABLE
FOR WAND AT AN INDIGO GIRLS CONCERT
Great music! Great opportunity to
work for women and peace!
We need WAND tablers at each of these
fall concerts. Please contact us if you
are available and would like to combine
your love of the Indigo Girls with your
passion to build a better world. We
need you! |
10/12/2004
Kentucky Center Louisville
KY
10/13/2004
Buskirk-Chumley Theater Bloomington
IN
10/14/2004
Cobb Great Hall East Lansing
MI
10/16/2004
Rialto Square Theatre Joliet
IL
10/17/2004
(To Be Determined)
Champaign
IL
10/18/2004
(To Be Determined)
Milwaukee
WI
10/20/2004
Rococo Theatre Lincoln NE
10/21/2004
Uptown Theatre Kansas City
MO
10/24/2004
Civic Center Music Hall Oklahoma City
OK
10/27/2004
Center for Performing Arts
Gainesville FL
10/28/2004
Olympia Theatre Miami FL
10/29/2004
Olympia Theatre Miami FL
10/30/2004
Olivia Cruise Tampa
FL
11/5/2004
The Palace
Stamford
CT
INFO / To Volunteer: Laura Beavers, 410-223-2975,
LBeavers@aecf.org |
| "Hijacking
Catastrophe" – Washington, DC (9/21)
Video,
Information, Handouts, City / State-specific
Data, NPP Website Demonstration, Grassroots
Strategy Discussion
Tuesday,
September 21, 4 - 5 pm
Center
for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation,
322 4th St. NE
Refreshments
will be served.
Co-sponsors:
National Priorities Project, Physicians
for Social Responsibility and Women's
Action for New Directions * INFO: 413-584-9556
or email pschwartz@nationalpriorities.org.
"Hijacking
Catastrophe" examines how a
radical fringe of the Republican Party
has used 9/11 to advance a pre-existing
agenda to radically transform American
foreign policy. "Hijacking
Catastrophe" is also showing
in selected theaters nationwide.
|
 |
|
International
Day of Prayer for Peace (9/21)
Tuesday, 21 September 2004
Churches
representing over 550 million Christians
world-wide have been invited for the first
time to mark 21 September as an
International Day of Prayer for Peace.
In the framework of its Decade to Overcome
Violence: Churches seeking Reconciliation
and Peace (2001-2010), the World Council
of Churches (WCC) has called on its member
churches to pray for peace on 21 September
by organizing 24-hour observances or vigils
on that day, as well as prayers for peace
in services on the Sunday before or after
21 September. | INFO:
click
here.
|
 |
"The
New Nuclear Danger" - Washington,
DC (9/21)
Sponsors:
The GWU Elliott School of International
Affairs and the National Council of Women's
Organizations
Speaker:
Helen Caldicott, M.D., President, Nuclear
Policy Research Institute |
September
21, 5:30-7:30 p.m. | Light refreshments.
The Elliott School of International
Affairs, 1957 E Street, N.W., Room 213
| Free and open to the public.
Dr. Helen Caldicott is the Founding
President of Physicians for Social Responsibility
(PSR) and Women’s Action for Nuclear
Disarmament (WAND), and is the author
of numerous books exploring nuclear
and environmental issues.
For a calendar: click
here.
|
 |
Keep
Space for Peace Week: International
Days of Protest to Stop the Militarization
of Space (9/25 – 10/2)
For
the past several years, Keep Space
for Peace Week has taken this issue
into classrooms, libraries, TV and radio
programs, churches, military bases,
aerospace corporation facilities, and
offices of political leaders. We
encourage you to organize a local activity
during the week in solidarity with groups
all over the world.
INFO:
click
here.
|
 |
Cross
Canada Day of Action Against Missile Defense
(10/2/04)
Sponsor: Canadian Peace Alliance (CPA)
CPA member groups, coalitions and peace
loving groups will organize actions to protest
Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) on October
2 – one day after BMD officially goes on
line in the U.S., two days before the Parliament
of Canada resumes, and coinciding with the
International Keep Space for Peace
week. |
From the CPA statement: Defense Minister
Bill Graham still insists that BMD will
not result in the weaponization of space.
He is wrong. Even a cursory glance at the
US Missile Defence Agency website shows
that BMD is designed to culminate in the
creation of space-based weapons. ...Our
collective voice has never been stronger.
Now we must organize our communities against
this threat to global peace.
INFO: Sid Lacombe, Canadian Peace Alliance
416-588-5555, cpa@web.ca, www.acp-cpa.ca |
IDEAS,
VISIONS, RESOURCES FOR A BETTER
WORLD |
U.S.
in the World: Talking Global Issues with Americans
- A Practical Guide
 |
Co-published
by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and
The Aspen Institute
A
new tool designed to help experts, professional
communicators, elected officials, candidates,
journalists, advocates, and anyone who
wants to talk with other Americans about
U.S. foreign policy. The guide is based
on a 2-year, extensive nonpartisan collaborative
process that involved hundreds of experts
on U.S. foreign policy, public opinion
and communications. Its 140 pages feature
communications pointers as well as core
arguments and facts framed in ways that
research suggests are more likely to
engage a large segment of the public |
Learn
more with this 4-minute video introduction
Windows Media Player
* Real
Player * Quick
Time Player
Download a FREE PDF version & order
the user-friendly print edition: www.usintheworld.org.
Click
here to send a personalized "TELL-A-FRIEND"
notice to others.
 |
The
Impossible Will Take a Little While: A Citizen's
Guide to Hope in a Time of Fear
A book on political hope by Paul Rogat Loeb |
|
A
message about the book from Bonnie Raitt
and Howard Zinn (excerpt):
"With
this book, editor Paul Rogat Loeb, whom
Susan Sontag has called "a national
treasure" for his work on courage
and conscience, builds on his activist
classic, "Soul of a Citizen." He
explores what it's like to go up against
Goliath, whether South African apartheid,
the iron fist of Eastern European dictatorship,
or Mississippi segregation. These
stories don't sugarcoat the obstacles.
But they inspire hope by showing what
keeps us keeping on--even when the odds
seem overwhelming. They replenish the
wellsprings of our commitment.
"If you care about change in a world
where most people are told their voices
don't count, think of this book as a gift
to yourself--hope for the homestretch
in an immensely critical election, bread
for the journey to keep on working for
justice no matter what happens in November,
sustenance to return to again and again
when your spirit begins to flag."
INFO: www.theimpossible.org |
 |
15th
annual KIDS COUNT Data Book, by the Annie
E. Casey Foundation
A
valuable resource for state legislators
and WAND members |
National
trends in child well-being are moving in a
positive direction. Nonetheless, a wide disparity
among states still exists in several critical
indicators. Although the child poverty rate
is declining in nearly every state, the overall
rate in America is among the highest in the
developed world. Additionally, the Data Book
highlights the fact that nearly one in six
young adults, ages 18 to 24, are not working,
have no degree beyond high school, and are
not enrolled in school. This year's essay,
"Moving Youth From Risk to Opportunity,"
explores how these "disconnected"
youth face a particularly tough transition
to successful adulthood and presents examples
of public and private initiatives around the
country that reflect more effective investments
in our most at-risk young adults.
To
order the Data Book, the Essay reprint, the
Pocket Guide, the Wall Chart, and the Data
Wheel. http://www.aecf.org/kidscount/databook/
 |
From
the Stimson Center: "Policy Matters:
Educating Congress on Peace & Security"
A
nuts-and-bolts guide to the inner workings
of Congress to help Americans who care
about foreign policy and responsible
US leadership initiate this much-needed
dialogue
"Policy
Matters" is available through WAND's
website: click here;
Or
go to: www.stimson.org
Note to organizers. The authors,
Lorelei Kelly and Elizabeth Turpen,
are offering training presentations.
If interested, call Elizabeth Blumenthal
at 202 223 5956, ext 3644.
|
For
additional job listings: www.movingideas.org/jobs/
HERBERT
SCOVILLE JR. PEACE FELLOWSHIP
Targeted Fields: Social Sciences. Specialty
fields related to peace and security issues.
Open To Prospective/Current Graduate Students.
Deadline: 10/15/2004 -for Spring Semester. 2/1/2005
-for Fall Semester. Fellows
are selected to serve as project assistants
in Washington D.C. for six to nine months with
nonprofit, public-interest organizations addressing
peace and security issues.
INFO: Paul Revsine, Program Director, (202)
543-4100 ext. 124, scoville@clw.org, www.clw.org/scoville/
GA
CENTER FOR LAW IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST – Staff
Attorney
INFO:
www.cleangeorgia.org
or jthompson@cleangeorgia.org
|
IN
THE FIELD: WAND CHAPTER AND PARTNER
EVENTS |
ARKANSAS WAND
ARKANSAS
WAND NEWS
Sarah
Cearley and Jean Gordon spoke recently at the
Sertoma Club as part of the WAND Speakers’ Bureau
outreach to the community.
Arkansas
WAND is organizing a “The People Speak” forum,
and registering voters.
Please
join us! Arkansas WAND INFO: Jean Gordon, jgordon@igc.apc.org.
ARKANSAS
WOMEN’S PROJECT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Arkansas
Liberty Fest (9/18)
A
celebration of Arkansas’ GLBT community, allies,
and all of our families
12
– 6 p.m. Murray Park, Little Rock | Free
admission
MTV
Rock the Vote (9/19)
Hendrix
College, Conway | Free
admission, 12 – 7 p.m.
Celebrating
the Power of Women (10/1)
Women’s
Project Annual Silent Auction
Unitarian
Universalist Church, 1818 Reservoir Rd.
| $5
at the door
INFO:
www.womens-project.org * wproject@aol.com * 501-372-5113
Peace
& Justice Studies Assoc. ‘04 Annual
Conference – San Francisco (10/14-17)
“The
Challenge of Globalization: Incorporating Peace,
Justice & Human Rights”
October 14-17, 1, University of SF
Friday
awards banquet open to the public.
INFO:
www.peacejusticestudies.org.
Atlanta
WAND
-
Meet
Up, Greet Up, Get Out the Vote! (9/14)
Tuesday,
September 14, 7:00-9:00pm
Manuel’s
Tavern; 602 N. Highland Ave.
Join
Atlanta WAND and partners at Manuel’s
Tavern to plug into opportunities to
get voters to the polls on November
2nd.
Phone-a-thon
to Get Voters to the Polls (9/19)
Sunday,
September 19
279
Logan St., SE, Communication Workers
of America, Local #3204
Join
Atlanta WAND in a phone bank that will
reach thousands of potential voters
in priority precincts. We can make a
difference in Georgia!
Shifts:
11:30-2:00pm, 1:30-4:00pm, 3:30-7:00pm,
6:30-9:00pm.
To
sign up, contact us at 404-524-5999
or wandatlanta@wand.org.
Every
Friday Stand for Peace
Come
out to Colony Square at the corner of
Peachtree and 14th St. from 12:00-1:00pm
to rally with others for peace.
INFO: WAND, 404-524-5999.
Every
Wednesday: Circle of Scribes
12:00-1:30pm
at Dakota Blue restaurant, 454 Cherokee
Ave. (below the WAND office)
Meet
new people, talk about current events,
and write letters to the media and our
elected officials. An Atlanta WAND
board member leads each Circle.
Annual
Evelyn Lowery 2-Day Heritage Tour (10/2-3)
INFO:
Atlanta WAND at 404-524-5999
Atlanta WAND website: www.atlantawand.org
Tummy
and Soul Cooperative Restaurant
634
Fraser Street, SE near Turner Field.
GA
Avenue Coming Together has opened the doors
to this new restaurant.
Breakfast
served 7 to 11, evening meals 3 to 7.
Lunch menu coming soon.
Come
eat with us! INFO: whale37@earthlink.net, Ch. off. 404-688-0871
Silent
Prayer for Peace - 7:30 to 8:30 pm on the 6th
of Each Month
Butler
Street YMCA, 17 Jesse Hill Jr. Dr. between Auburn
& Edgewood near the municipal market, about
five or six blocks toward town from the King
Center. The first prayer is from 7:30 to 7:45
facing the west end of the room. The second
prayer will be from 8:00 to 8:15 sitting in
a circle. INFO: leeps@mindspring.com
Woodhull
Institute for Ethical Leadership (10/8-10)
October 8-10 weekend retreat
Friday's panel discussion is free and open to
the public.
Saturday and Sunday retreat fee is $225.
The Woodhull Institute was founded in 1997 by
Naomi Wolf and Margot Magowan to create a community
where women can acquire business acumen, develop
personal and professional skills, and belong
to an empowering network where ideas are generated
and exchanged.
INFO:
http://www.woodhull.org
Nuclear
Power and Children's Health: What You
Can Do – Chicago (10/15-16)
Seminar, October 15-16
St. Scholastica Academy, INFO: www.nuclearpolicy.org
Karen
Jacob and David Cortright Receive Gandhi Peace
Award
Northern Indiana WAND president Karen Jacob
and her husband David Cortright, president
of the Fourth Freedom Forum and cofounder
of the national Win Without War campaign,
will receive the 2004 Gandhi Peace Award presented
by Promoting Enduring Peace (PEP) on September
18, 2004, in a ceremony in New Haven, Connecticut.
.
PEP, a nonprofit organization dedicated to
the achievement of lasting world peace, has
given the Gandhi Peace Award 37 times since
1960. Recipients include Eleanor Roosevelt,
Dr. Benjamin Spock, Linus C. Pauling, A.J.
Muste, The Rev. William Sloane Coffin, Jr.,
U Thant, Dorothy Day, Dr. Helen Caldicott,
Cesar Chavez, Marian Wright Edelman, and Rep.
Dennis Kucinich.
Karen serves as president of PEP, as well
as WAND chapter president. She also
serves on WAND's national board of directors.
Karen, a registered nurse, volunteers in medical
programs for the poor. She is also an accomplished
artist.
Congratulations
to Karen and David!
Northern
Indiana WAND Joins “Goshen in Black,” Citizens
Calling for an End to Violence in Iraq and
Mourning the Deaths of U.S. Soldiers and Iraqis
The
vigil takes place on the southwest corner
of Main Street and Lincoln Avenue in downtown
Goshen every Wednesday from noon to 1 p.m.
Excerpt
from South Bend Tribune article, September
9, 2004:
"We
support our troops, but most importantly to
me is the human life cost," said Karen
Jacob, a Goshen resident. "Bush is saying
what a success this all is, and people believe
the leader of the free world, but he's not
leading, he's misleading. Silence is complacency,
and I'm not complacent."
Jacob is also a member of Women's Actions
For New Direction (WAND), a national women's
organization that empowers women to act politically
to reduce violence and militarism and redirect
what they see as excessive military resources
toward unmet human and environmental needs.
"Our motto at WAND is 'Children ask the
world of us,' " Jacob said. "This
doesn't just mean U.S. children. As you listen
to the Iraqi names (being read off today),
they're mostly children -- that's just criminal."
Excerpt
from Goshen News article, September
9, 2004:
One
participant in the vigil said she was unsettled
during the Sept. 1 gathering when a passerby
expressed offense to the event.
[WAND
leader] Julia King, Goshen, said she was shocked
that anyone would express offense to a group
of people mourning dead civilians and soldiers.
“We
should all join in the mourning of loss of
life,” King said.
Northern
Indiana WAND INFO: "Karen Jacob"
lovekaren55@msn.com
Bringing
our Pieces Together: Peace Building through
Intercultural Dialogue (10/22-24)
October 22-24; Earlham College, Richmond,
IN
Workshops,
performers and speakers including Aaron Miller,
Ilyasah Shabazz, Jennie Kiesling and others.
Sponsor: Plowshares peace Studies Project, Earlham
College
INFO:
(765) 983-1305; www.plowshareproject.org
Eleventh
Annual Iowa Women's Music Festival (9/18)
Iowa City. INFO: 319/335-1486
Indicators for
Women's and Girls' Well-Being (9/21)
10 a.m. - 4 p.m., Holiday Inn &
Conference Center, Coralville
Sponsors: Iowa United Nations Association
and Iowa Women's Foundation.
INFO: Rebecca Turner, 888/488-4293 or turner@iawf.org
Walk for Moms:
Raising Hope for Victims of Domestic Violence
(9/25)
Merle Hay Mall, Des Moines. Children
& Families of Iowa,
INFO: www.cfiowa.org
Source:
IoWoman, September/October 2004
A Publication of the Friends of the
Iowa Commission on the Status of Women
www.state.ia.us/dhr/sw
FORUM
WITH Union of Concerned Scientist president
Kevin Knobloch – Bangor (9/21)
“Solving the Nuclear Threat: From the Iraq
War to True Security”
Bangor
Public Library, 145 Harlow Street
Tuesday
September 21 at 7 p.m.
Directions:
Peace and Justice Center of Eastern Maine
(207) 942-9343
INFO:
Kathy Crandall, UCS Global Security Outreach
Coordinator, kcrandall@ucsusa.org
CAMBRIDGE
WAND SPEAKERS BUREAU: Coffee and Conversation
(9/23)
Cambridge WAND members Peggy Schmertzler and
Joanna Hopkins will offer a presentation on
the federal budget at the First Parish in Lincoln,
Steams Room, Thursday, September 23, 10:00 to
12 noon.
How
does government spending support our values
and priorities? Get
the facts on Massachusetts and federal spending
in this easy-to-understand, sometimes amusing,
presentation. Then share your views with fellow
Lincolnites on health care, public education,
the environment and homeland security. Light
refreshments will be served. Sponsored by the
Faith-in-Action Group
INFO:
alpegs@comcast.net
GREATER
NEWBURYPORT WAND NEWS LOCAL
VIGILS FOR PEACE
-
Sundays
- 12 noon-1 p.m. Market Sq., Newburyport.
INFO: Niki Rosen, (978) 463-3208
-
First
Sunday each month - 11:30-12:30 corner
of Main & School Street in Amesbury,
INFO: Barbara Hildt, 978 388-3647
-
Daily
- Merrimack Valley People for Peace, Andover.
INFO: Barbara Haack, (978) 363-2245.
WAND
MICHIGAN MEMBERSHIP MEETING – Detroit (10/12)
Join
WAND national field director Tanya Wallace-Hargro,
WAND education director Bobbie Wrenn Banks,
and WAND Michigan members for an evening
of information and discussion. Details
to follow.
WAND
Michigan INFO: CMeadRosen@Comcast.Net
America’s
Pocketbook: What can the federal budget teach
us about the kind of people we are? – Traverse
City (10/14)
Traverse
City area social workers presentation and
roundtable discussion with WAND education
director Bobbie Wrenn Banks
October
14, 2004, 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
INFO:
Peggy Hendrickson (peggy.hendrickson@avcmh.org or 989-362-8636)
WAND
Women’s Leadership Workshop – Alpena (10/15)
Understanding
the Federal Budget and Learning to Talk About
It
Led
by WAND education director Bobbie Wrenn
Banks
October
15, 2004 – 9 am to 5 pm
Alpena County Library, Alpena
Space
is limited to:
-
25 participants for morning session (9:00
a.m. to 1:00 p.m.) – Receive federal budget
training and large binder of materials
including fact sheets and teaching guides
-
12 participants in the afternoon (1:30
p.m. to 5:00 p.m.) – Craft your message,
practice delivering it through mock radio
interviews and a videotaped speaking exercise.
Receive individual feedback in a supportive
setting.
Workshop
fee, including materials and lunch, is $25
(morning only) or $35 (all day)
INFO: Peggy Hendrickson, Workshop Organizer
– email: peggyh@chartermi.net
Women
Against Military Madness (WAMM) News
Walk
for Justice (9/19)
September 19, 11:30 a.m.- 3:30 p.m. Boom
Island Park, Minneapolis.
INFO:
www.walkforjustice.org.
International
Day of Peace, Minneapolis (9/21)
An
Issue of Democracy: U. S. Intervention in
Haiti, Cuba & Beyond
September 21, 6 PM
Hennepin
Avenue United Methodist Church, 511 Groveland
Avenue
Speakers
include August Nimtz and Michell Karshan
$10 donations/ no one turned away/ students
free
Tickets available from WAMM or at the door.
Sponsor: MN Alliance of Peacemakers.
INFO:
http://mapm.org
or 612-827-5364
Not-So-Silent!
Auction (9/26)
Sunday, September 26, 5:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.,
St. Joan of Arc Church, 4537 Third Avenue South,
Minneapolis. Bid on cabin getaways, a week
in France, gourmet feasts, entertainment, gifts
and more. Visit the New "Hot Buys"
table. Appetizer / dessert buffet. Beer and
wine bar. Music by Deb Harley. Parking free.
Admission $5-$15 sliding scale.
INFO:
www.worldwidewamm.org
Building
a Culture of Peace, Minneapolis (9/30)
A
Mother's Promise the World Must Keep:
The Critical Link between Access to Family
Planning & Population Stabilization.
September 30, 7PM - 8:30 PM
Hubert Humphrey Institute, University of MN,
301 19th Ave. S.
Registration/refreshments - 6 :15 PM
Sponsor:
UN Association of Minnesota (UNA). $8/free
for students and UNA members.
INFO:
(612) 879-7512, info@unamn.org or www.unamn.org.
End
the Occupation Now! Bring the Troops Home!
Every Wednesday, 4:30-5:30 p.m., Lake
Street/Marshall Ave. Bridge, between Minneapolis
& St. Paul. Sponsors: WAMM and Twin
Cities Peace Campaign.
More WAMM Events: http://www.worldwidewamm.org/calendar.html
Helena
Peace Seekers Meeting (9/28)
Tuesday, September 28 - 6:30 p.m.
Susanna Wesley Place, Room 108, 512 Logan
(building north of St. Paul's Methodist).
All welcome. INFO: Frank (H: 443-0843;
frank@helenapeaceseekers.org) or Jo Anne (449-7971;
joanne@helenapeaceseekers.org)
http://www.helenapeaceseekers.org/events.htm
NC
PEACE LEAP "Get Out The Vote" Collaboration
Join this important collaboration to get
voters to the polls on November 2.
INFO: Bridgette Burge, 919-523-3193, or
paefleap@mindspring.com
Organizing
Advocacy Workshops (9/11 - 10/4)
Sponsors
include: Democracy NC and the League of Women
Voters
No
charge to participants.
New Bern (9/11, 10-4pm),
Fayetteville (9/25, 10-4pm)
Pittsboro (10/9, 10-4pm)
Warren/Vance Counties (TBA)
INFO/RSVP:
1-888-687-8683, ext. 17
WAND
BUDGET FORUM – Ohio State University (9/21)
WAND
education director Bobbie Wrenn Banks will
lead four 1-hour sessions on the federal budget
as part of OSU’s orientation activities.
Sponsor:
OSU Women Student Services
INFO:
Anindita Sunder, Ph: (614)-688-8449
WAND
Federal Budget Forum – Wright State University
(9/24)
Speakers:
WAND national field director Tanya Wallace-Hargro
and WAND education director Bobbie Wrenn Banks
Friday, September 24, noon – 1, Women's Center
(148 Millett Hall)
Sponsor:
WSU Women’s Center
INFO:
Kelli Zaytoun kelli.zaytoun@wright.edu, Cindy Vanzant
cindy.vanzant@wright.edu
RAD
ALERT: Nuclear Dollars versus the Common
Good, Columbus (9/25)
September 25, Columbus State Community
College
A
conference on nuclear energy and military
policies, and on sustainable alternative strategies.
Registration fee pre-Sept. 17 ( w / meal):
$10
Supported
by Central OH Peace Education, Central OH
Sierra Club, Central Ohioans for Peace, the
Free Press, and others. INFO: Rad Alert
(614) 299-4702.
Keep
Space for Peace Week, Toledo (9/25 – 10/2)
International days of protest to
stop the militarization of space
September
25th - October 2, 4:30 - 5:30 PM
Location: Lewis Square (Madison and St. Claire),
Toledo
Sponsors:
Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear
Power in Space, (207)729-0517, www.space4peace.org,
and the Women's International League for Peace
and Freedom (WILPF) www.wilpf.org.
How
Bush Got it Wrong on Iraq – Statewide Tour (9/21-24)
Join
the 20/20 Vision Battleground Tour, as
Greg Thielmann, former State Department official,
provides an inside look into U.S intelligence
failure on Iraq weapons of mass destruction.
Greg
Thielmann is a 24-year veteran of the U.S.
Foreign Service and was in charge of the State
Department's intelligence office prior to
the Iraq war. He advised Secretary of State
Colin Powell on the Iraqi threat until he
retired in September ‘02. Now he is advising
the American public that Iraq was not an imminent
threat to America, and that the world is less
safe today than before the war.
INFO:
www.2020vision.org, 800 669-1782, or tracy@2020vision.org.
Tuesday, Sept 21, 12:30 pm
Cleveland, OH, Cleveland State University,
University Center
Tuesday evening, Sept 21
Akron, OH, University of Akron
Wednesday, Sept 22 7 pm
Columbus, OH, Ohio State University Law School
Thursday, Sept 23 7-9 pm
Cincinnati, OH, Xavier University, Kelly Auditorium,
Alter Hall
Friday, Sept 24 3 pm
Dayton, OH, University of Dayton, Kennedy
Union
Friday, Sept 24 6:30 pm
Dayton, OH, Cross Creek Community Church
LANE
COUNTY WAND NEWS
NEXT
MINUTEWOMEN ACTION: Eugene Celebration
Plans are underway for the WAND booth and
we need your help for a 2-hour shift on
Saturday or Sunday, September 18-19.
We will sell peace cards and True Majority
window shade pens, and offer regular demonstrations
of the discretionary budget pie.
INFO
/ To volunteer: Lane Co. WAND phone line
338-8605 or Susan Cundiff @ 683-1350.
Ellsberg,
Benjamin, Solomon to Speak in Eugene (9/25)
Three
Events:
1)
2-4 pm - Ellsberg/Benjamin/Solomon Panel
Lane Community College Performing Arts Center
2) 5-7 pm - Peace Awards Dinner/Reception
Cozmic
Pizza (NE corner of 8th & Charnelton)
3) 7:30 pm - Panel: "What's At Stake:
2004 Elections and Beyond"
Speakers: Daniel Ellsberg, Medea Benjamin,
Norman Solomon
First United Methodist Church (1376 Olive
St.)
Doors open at 6:45 pm with literature tables
and voter registration.
Sliding scale admission at door: $5 to $20
(WAND will have a literature table at
this event)
Sponsors: Eugene PeaceWorks, Justice Not
War Coalition, Eugene Weekly, NW Media Project
INFO: Justice Not War Coalition, 606-2877
or Eugene PeaceWorks, 343-8548
Single
Women VOTE
Sponsored by
the Sequoia Leadership Center
Single women represent the largest under-participating
voting sector of our adult population.
Nationwide, 22 million single women did not
participate in the last national election.
In Eugene, more than 10,000 single women did
not vote in 2000!
We want to reach these women - primarily
through thoughtful, face-to-face contact
on the doorstep. We plan to listen carefully
to them, provide information about the value
of voting, and facilitate their registration
when possible. When vote by mail begins,
we will also work to remind these women
to turn in their ballots.
Our headquarters are at 780 Blair Boulevard,
near 8th and Blair across from the Sweet
Life Patisserie. We’re open Monday
through Friday, 2 to 6 pm.
Please Join us! INFO Meetings: 5:30
pm every Monday or Wednesday in September
and October. INFO: 342-2082, swvote@pacinfo.com.
How
Bush Got it Wrong on Iraq (9/20)
Speaker:
Greg Thielmann, former State Department
official
See
Ohio announcement about Greg Thielmann’s
tour for background.
INFO:
www.2020vision.org, 800
669-1782, or tracy@2020vision.org.
Monday
Sept 20, 7:00-8:30 pm
Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh, School
of Law, Tepliz Memorial
3900 Forbes Avenue, Courtroom (G26)
Oak
Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance (OREPA)
Sunday
Vigils at Y12
Every
Sunday, 5 PM
A
time for reflection, celebration, and community
Monday
morning sign-holding vigils
6:30
– 8 AM at Y12
Nashville
Peace and Justice Center News
Peace
Coalition (9/15)
Wednesday, September 15, 6:00pm - 7:30pm
Nashville
Peace and Justice Center, 1016 18th Ave
S.
Sister
Helen Prejean- Death Penalty Abolitionist
(9/16)
Thursday, September 16, 8:00pm - 9:30pm
Vanderbilt Campus, Wilson Hall 126 Next
to Law School
Calling
All Youth: Nashville Youth for Peace and
Justice (9/17)
Friday, September 17, 4:00pm - 6:00pm
Nashville Peace and Justice Center, 1016
18th Ave, South
Lucy's
Record Shop - A Day of Music, Culture, Free
Speech and Voter Reg (9/18)
Saturday, September 18, 12:00pm - 11:55pm
The
Belcourt Theatre and Parking Lot, Belcourt
Ave (near 21st)
Food
Not Bombs, Sharing with the Homeless (9/19)
Sunday, September 19, 1:30pm - 3:00pm
Legislative Plaza (War Memorial), 6th &
Union, Downtown
NPJC
INFO: http://www.nashvillepeacejustice.org/
Matt
Leber, matt@nashvillepeacejustice.org
or (615) 321-9066.
Hijacking
Catastrophe (9/21)
Video,
Information, Handouts, City / State-specific
Data, NPP Website Demonstration, Grassroots
Strategy Discussion
Tuesday,
September 21, 4 - 5 pm
Center
for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation,
322 4th St. NE
See
“Notable National Events” for details.
A
NEW WAND CHAPTER IN D.C. PLEASE JOIN US!
If
you live in or around Washington, D.C. and
want to participate in positive action for
peace and justice -- or if you know someone
in or around D.C. who might be interested
in helping form a new WAND chapter, please
contact Lane Stone at: NLANELARRY@aol.com.
Please
join us. This is an opportunity
to make change – and make history!
The
WAND Bulletin Board is an announcement service
of WAND. The purpose of the WAND Bulletin is
to share news and ideas, and to offer the support
of a national network of active WAND, WiLL and
STAND members and partner organizations.
WAND
/ STAND chapters and partner organizations are
encouraged to submit news for the Bulletin Board.
Please send text in a form that is ready to
be published without further editing. Email
submissions to:
bwbanks@wand.org.
To
add or remove names from the Bulletin list,
please email your request to:
bwbanks@wand.org.
Statements
posted on WAND’s Bulletin Board do not
necessarily reflect the position of WAND.
To
join WAND, go to www.wand.org.
Your membership makes this work possible.
Thank
you for your support!
©
2004 WAND. |
