Capitol
Hill Update, March 2008
 |
Some
great language in the House
FY09 Budget Resolution!
We especially like the second
sentence, about Cold War
weapons systems. That will
help us move ahead in our
mission of making more sensible
federal spending priorities.
|
“The
resolution also encourages the committees
with jurisdiction over defense to
conduct more oversight with the
objective of ferreting out wasteful
practices, fraud, and abuse. It
encourages the committees to require
DoD to report to Congress on its
progress in implementing GAO audit
recommendations and to report on
the applicability of cold war-era
weapons to 21st century challenges.” |
 |
Establish
Timetable for Redeployment
of U.S. Forces In Iraq
This bill, introduced by Congresswoman
Niki Tsongas (MA) (whom WAND
supported in her bid for Congress
last year), would set a timetable
for the quick and safe redeployment
of U.S. forces serving in
Iraq, and would help bring
about a political solution
that will bring lasting stability
to the country. Urge your
Rep to cosponsor. |
|
| 
|
Basic
Budget Training
Cartoon by Mark Fiore
Good for a laugh, but also, disturbingly,
for a lesson in the federal budgeting
process... |
Cost
of Iraq War Now Beyond Human Comprehension
By William D. Hartung | Alternet
| March 5, 2008
How far off were they? Well, it
depends on which figure you choose
to start with. Here's the range:
According to key officials in
the Bush administration back in
2002-2003, the invasion and reconstruction
of Iraq was either going to cost
$60 billion, or $100-$200 billion.
Actually, we can start by tossing
that top figure out, since not
long after Bush economic advisor
Larry Lindsey offered it in 2002,
he was shown the door, in part
assumedly for even suggesting
something so ludicrous.
|
No
more Pentagon budget games
Real security needs, not an arbitrary
baseline, should drive the numbers.
By Robert Higgs | Christian
Science Monitor | March 4, 2008
Despite his many shortcomings, former
President Jimmy Carter had one good idea
that, in view of President Bush's recent
$3.1 trillion federal budget proposal,
deserves a fresh look: zero-based budgeting.
|
The
Iraq War Is Killing Our Economy
By Robert Pollin and Heidi Garrett-Peltier
| The
Nation | March 18, 2008
WAND
provided crucial funding for
the Jobs Study which came out
of the University of Massachusetts.
We distributed the exec summary
at the conference in October.
But the economic consequences
of Iraq run even deeper than
the squandered opportunities
for vital public investments.
Spending on Iraq is
also a job killer. Every $1
billion spent on a combination
of education, healthcare, energy
conservation and infrastructure
investments creates between
50 and 100 percent more jobs
than the same money going to
Iraq. Taking the 2007
Iraq budget of $138 billion,
this means that upward of 1
million jobs were lost because
the Bush Administration chose
the Iraq sinkhole over public
investment.
 |
WAND
understands that many
jobs in this country
depend on the military
industrial complex;
however, we also know
that investing in other
types of public project
generates more, and
better, jobs. Now we
need to convince Congress...
Jobs
Study: "Alternative
Public Spending: Effects
on Job Creation"
Click
here for summary document
(PDF).
Click
here for the full report.
|
|
Missile
Defense: "Longest Running Scam"
Exposed
by Katrina vanden Heuvel | The
Nation | March 7, 2008
...Rep.
Tierney pointed out that we have spent
over $120 billion on missile defense
in the past 25 years; that the annual
budget is expected to double by 2013
to $19 billion; and that the
current $10 billion per year is equal
to one-third of the Homeland Security
budget, roughly equal to the State
Department budget, greater than the
FEMA budget, 20 times greater than
public diplomacy expenditures, and
30 times greater than Peace Corps.
|
The
Great American Pie Campaign
is on the road
Bobbie Wrenn Banks is
taking it to meeting halls,
churches, newspaper offices,
and more. We think she's
awesome -- and tireless.
So
far, she's been to Mississippi,
Arkansas, Indiana, and
California; up next month:
North Dakota, Minnesota.
She brings her pie and
her bookmarks and her
wealth of knowledge with
her.
Here's
the thing: IF YOU WANT
HER in your town, get
in touch!
field@wand.org
She might well bring you
some great American pie!
Here's
just a sample of what
she's been doing. For
more info on her travels,
click
here.
Some
of the women from Gary,
IN AAUW (they
even gave BWB a corsage).
(More
photos here.)
 |
Marianna,
AR briefing
with women community
leaders through the
Community Development
Corporation. BWB (c)
at City Hall with
the Director, Renee
Wilburn (r) and her
associate Sharon Reid
(l) |
See
that slice o pie? That's
what the Pentagon gets!
while all those human
needs programs get crumbs.
Here's BWB with the good
folks of Arkansas
WAND. (More
photos here.)
BWB
reports: I spent
3 days with AR WAND -- a
great chapter with a strong
presence in Little Rock,
an inspiring history and
long list of accomplishments.
Then:
- WiLL
member activity in Little
Rock – The legislators
received warm, attractive
invitations from our
staff as they were also
encouraged to sign the
budget letter. Six attended
and were recognized.
Rep. Janet Johnson spoke.
- Breaking
new ground in Mississippi.
A relationship has been
started with the women’s
center at Ole Miss;
a strong ally, Doyce
Deas, in Tupelo; and
the new director of
the MS Commission on
the Status of Women.
- Faith
Seeking Peace materials
delivered to 7 churches
- Groundwork
for engaging MS / AR
members of Congress
- Debut
of bookmarks and other
fabulous WAND materials
- Outreach
in the Arkansas delta,
resulting in a strong
contact there (Renee
Wilburn, CDC director)
- Outreach
to mayors (WAND/NPP
message – thanks
to NPP for crunching
#’s on the towns
I visited) + WAND/Mayors
for Peace message about
a nuclear weapons-free
world
- Media
– a couple of
news stories and possible
opeds
|
PINK
magazine
just published their coverage
of the 2007 WAND/WiLL
conference; it's tasty:
"The news is electric
– piping straight
from D.C.'s new seat of
feminine power."
|
|
Atlanta
WAND Executive Director
Bobbie Paul went down
to the recruiting station
in Atlanta and tried to
enlist. She ended up in
jail, for which we'd like
to thank her most profusely.
Anti-War
Grannies Arrested Trying
to Enlist
Matthew Cardinale |The
Atlanta Progressive News|
March 17, 2008
"What
we're doing is, we're
very much against the
Iraq war. We'd like for
you to let us enlist,"
said Bobbie Paul, 58,
executive director of
Atlanta Women's Action
for New Directions.
"We
have to make sure people
are physically pre-screened,"
said a recruiter named
Kevin Wells.
"Could
we enlist today? So the
youth don't have to go?
Can you give us a list
of jobs?" Paul persisted.
"There
are regulations we have
to follow, set by the
government, as far as
entry and recruiting,"
Wells responded.
"Would
you take me? I'm 80,"
said Doris Benit of Kennesaw,
Georgia.
Later,
Bobbie had this to say:
I
think it was a great success,
in the sense we were able
to stay in there as long
as we were and having
an exchange. We kept 'em
occupied, to draw attention
to ourselves. We refused
to leave until they told
us we were arrested.
For mug shots
(really) and photos of
the action, visit Atlanta
Journal Constitution.
|
|
Support
some great women running
to serve in Congress for
the first time!
WAND
PAC has endorsed several
progressive and pragmatic
women who want to take
their seats at the tables
of power in 2008.
Read
the latest about the candidates
here! Thanks.
|
 |
UN
Report: March 2008
|
Click
here.
52nd Commission on Status
of Women
by Sayre Sheldon, WAND representative
on the NGO Working Group
for Women, Peace and Security |
Two
meetings were especially powerful
for me: one was on the effect
of guns on women; the second
was "Where Are We Now on
Security Council Resolution
1325?" Women spoke passionately
for the changes they wanted,
the obstacles they were up against,
and the successes their often
ingenious ways of defusing the
violence in their countries.
|
International
Poll Finds Large Majorities in
All Countries Favor Equal Rights
for Women
According to a new WorldPublicOpinion.org
poll of 16 nations from around
the world there is a widespread
consensus that it is important
for "women to have full equality
of rights" and most say it
is very important. This is true
in Muslim countries as well as
Western countries. Visit World
Public Opinion for the full
report. |
|
Watchdog
calls for safety, plutonium removal
from Livermore lab
The
Associated Press | Mercury
News | March 17, 2008
A
government watchdog group on Monday
criticized safety standards at
Northern California's Lawrence
Livermore National Laboratory
and called on the Energy Department
to speed up removal of weapons-grade
plutonium and uranium from the
site.
|
| Star
Wars 25th Anniversary
Twenty-five Years After Reagan’s
Star Wars Speech:
Where Are We Now?
March 2008 | Union
of Concerned Scientists
...First,
the Pentagon has yet to demonstrate
that the U.S. Ground-based Missile
Defense system is capable of defending
against a long-range ballistic
missile in a real-world situation...
Second,
there is little or no prospect
that the United States will develop
a defense system that could defend
against real-world long-range
missiles in the foreseeable future...
Third,
as long as the United States and
Russia continue to maintain nuclear
weapons to deter each other, any
U.S. steps to deploy a defense
system that Russia believes could
intercept a significant number
of its survivable long-range missile
forces will undermine efforts
to reduce nuclear threats.
|
|
Shultz,
Other Experts Back Nuclear Disarmament
By
Greg Webb | Global
Security Newswire | February
26, 2008
Former
U.S. Secretary of State George
Shultz today led a chorus of high-level
experts supporting the eventual
global elimination of nuclear
weapons, adding momentum to a
renewed international focus on
the long-deferred goal of disarmament.
“We
are at a tipping point. The danger
is all too real,” he told
a conference hosted by Norway’s
Foreign Ministry. “The simple
continuation of present practice
with regard to nuclear weapons
is leading in the wrong direction.
We need to change that direction.”...
“We
cannot wait for a nuclear Pearl
Harbor or 9/11. We must get ahead
of the game to prevent an even
more catastrophic event than those
that have been seared into our
memories,” Shultz said.
“If we wait —
if a nuclear accident occurs —
the world will be changed so dramatically
that we will not recognize it.”
“So
wake up, everybody. The
danger is real and the potential
consequences are of catastrophic
proportions,” he added.
|
 |
Notes
from the WAND News Bulletin
editor
So?
Answered VP Cheney
when White House correspondent
Martha Raddatz asked for
a response to the size of
the American opposition
to the Iraq war. |
ABC:
"Two-thirds of Americans
say it's not worth fighting
[in Iraq], and they're looking
at the value gain[ed] versus
the cost in American lives,
certainly, and Iraqi lives."
Cheney:
"So?"
ABC: "So–you don't
care what the American people
think?"
Cheney: "No, I think you
cannot be blown off course by
the fluctuations in the public
opinion polls…."
So.
Beyond the disturbing aspects
of our vice president saying,
essentially, "I win, you
don't count," (in polite
terms; sometimes known as "ef
you") -- isn't it amazing
that he is willing to say: we
will ever maintain we were right,
no matter what reality looks like.
"Fluctuations" to him
means: people are fickle, because
their opinions and strategies
change when the world changes.
"Fluctuations" does
not mean: look at what we've done,
and look how wrong we were, and
oh no, let's try to fix it. Instead,
he's stalwart: which means, in
this case, stubborn, hubristic,
deliberately blind, cruel, and
dismissive.
I
guess he did not read the Transcendalists
in his education, or the famous
and beloved words of Ralph Waldo
Emerson: "A foolish
consistency is the hobgoblin of
little minds."
So.
What we've lost: 5 years. 4000
American military lives. $3 billion.
Moral standing. Economic prosperity.
Peace...
What
we've gained: the certain knowledge
that this administration has no
faith or interest in the American
people -- except as taxpayers
and cannon fodder...
WAND
members and friends joined actions
across the country, as we marked
the fifth anniversary of this
most consistent and foolish war. |
Half
a Decade of War: Five Years After
Iraq Invasion, Soldiers Testify
at Winter Soldier Hearings
DemocracyNow.org
| March 19, 2008
On
March 19, 2003, the US launched
the invasion of Iraq. Half a decade
later, as the occupation continues
with no end in sight, some of
the most powerful voices against
the war have been the men and
women who have fought in it. For
four days this past weekend, soldiers
convened at the National Labor
College in Silver Spring, Maryland
for Winter Soldier, an eyewitness
account of the war and occupations
in Iraq and Afghanistan. Listen
as we broadcast their voices.
|
|
Winter
Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan
War Veterans Speak Out Photo Essay
Nina Berman
| AlterNet
|March 15, 2008
An
old woman killed for carrying
groceries. Taxi drivers fired
upon at will. A man shot dead
for opening a door. Anyone carrying
a shovel, speaking on a cell phone,
standing on a roof, or wearing
a green head band risked death.
|
 |
|
Iraq,
$5,000 Per Second?
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF | New
York Times | March 23, 2008
“The
present economic mess is very
much related to the Iraq war,”
says Joseph Stiglitz, the Nobel
Prize-winning economist. “It
was at least partially responsible
for soaring oil prices. ...Moreover,
money spent on Iraq did not stimulate
the economy as much as the same
dollars spent at home would have
done. To cover up these weaknesses
in the American economy, the Fed
let forth a flood of liquidity;
that, together with lax regulations,
led to a housing bubble and a
consumption boom.”...
But if you believe that staying
in Iraq does more good than harm,
you must answer the next question:
Is that presence so valuable that
it is worth undermining our economy?
Granted,
the cost estimates are squishy
and controversial, partly because
the $12.5 billion a month that
we’re now paying for Iraq
is only a down payment. We’ll
still be making disability payments
to Iraq war veterans 50 years
from now.
Professor
Stiglitz calculates in a new book,
written with Linda Bilmes of Harvard
University, that the total costs,
including the long-term bills
we’re incurring, amount
to about $25 billion a month.
That’s $330 a month
for a family of four...
Moreover,
the Bush administration has financed
this war in a way that undermines
our national security —
by borrowing. Forty percent of
the increased debt will be held
by China and other foreign countries.
“This
is the first major war in American
history where all the additional
cost was paid for by borrowing,”
Mr. Hormats notes. If the war
backers believe that the Iraq
war is so essential, then they
should be willing to pay for it
partly with taxes rather than
charging it.
|
Hounded
by Iraqi Musclemen, a Journalist
Awaited His Own Liberation
By John F. Burns | New
York Times | March 19, 2008
At the outset, for me, the approach
of American troops to Baghdad was
an issue of intense personal concern,
as much as professional. The Army
and Marine units that arrived at
the outskirts of Baghdad in the
first days of April 2003 were viewed,
then, by an overwhelming majority
of Iraqis as liberators from the
tyranny of Saddam Hussein. But they
were my liberators, too. |
The
Iraq war makes sense: BACKWARDS
Take a time travel trip
through the Iraq war with Jon
Stewart: start now, when
the war is more expensive and bloody
than ever; travel back to May 2003,
when the President declared "Mission
Accomplished"; and then back
some more...
Click
here, then look for the video
"Iraq: The First 5
Years" from Thursday,
March 20, 2008. |
| The
Three Trillion Dollar War: The True
Cost of the Iraq Conflict
This sobering study by
Nobel Prize winner Joseph E. Stiglitz
and Harvard professor Linda J. Bilmes
casts a spotlight on expense items
that have been hidden from the U.S.
taxpayer, including not only big-ticket
items like replacing military equipment
(being used up at six times the
peacetime rate) but also the cost
of caring for thousands of wounded
veterans—for the rest of their
lives. |
A
Centcom Chief Who Spoke His
Mind
By David Ignatius | Washington
Post | March 13, 2008
...Stories
about Fallon's resignation focused
mostly on his rejection of administration
saber-rattling on Iran. "I
expect that there will be no
war, and that is what we ought
to be working for," he
told al-Jazeera last fall when
war fever was high. But there's
less of a gap between Fallon
and the administration on Iran
than those comments suggested.
Top administration officials
have made clear for months that
they know there isn't a good
U.S. military option against
Iran.
Fallon's problems
were less dramatic -- but they
go to the heart of what America
should want from its senior
military leaders. After what
many viewed as the overly deferential
style of the two previous chairmen
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,
Air Force Gen. Richard Myers
and Marine Gen. Peter Pace,
the White House decided to go
for something different in a
senior commander -- a guy with
a mouth that could peel the
paint off the walls.
|
|
Mideast
Commander Retires After Irking
Bosses
By THOM SHANKER | New
York Times | March 12, 2008
...Admiral
Fallon had rankled senior officials
of the Bush administration in
recent months with comments that
emphasized diplomacy over
conflict in dealing with Iran,
that endorsed further troop withdrawals
from Iraq beyond those already
under way and that suggested the
United States had taken its eye
off the military mission in Afghanistan....
Across
the officer corps, a large number
of senior military leaders share
Admiral Fallon’s broad assessment
that a war with Iran would bring
unexpected and, perhaps, unmanageable,
risks elsewhere in the Muslim
world and around the globe.
But many said
they agreed that once it became
clear he had lost the confidence
of his civilian bosses, it was
the responsibility of the four-star
admiral to retire. That was especially
so, they said, as it became obvious
that no great effort was being
made by civilian leaders to persuade
him to remain in command.
At
the same time, some younger officers
who have been critical of senior
commanders for not speaking up
about the risks of invading Iraq
now see a senior officer who did
speak his mind publicly being
prompted to choose early retirement.
|
 |
Support
real diplomacy with Iran, instead
of military threats (2/08)
We don't need to use military
force every time we don't like the
answer from another country...
Take
Action |
|
WiLL
presents
a budget briefing at the Virginia
State Capitol
On
March 7 Delegate Jeion Ward, WiLL
State Director for Virginia, hosted
a budget briefing at the Virginia
State Capitol. Senator Nan Orrock
(GA), WiLL President, and Christina
Cernansky, WiLL Associate, presented
“Our Nation’s Checkbook:
Who We Are and What We Care About”
to 10 VA legislators. Response
to the briefing was very positive.
Whereas only one VA legislator
signed on to last year’s
WiLL budget letter, this year
10 added their signatures to our
budget letter sent to Members
of Congress! |
 |
American
Pie travels to the Indiana State
House
Indiana legislators enjoyed a
"Pie" briefing from
Bobbie Wrenn Banks in March.
(More
photos here.) |
 |
Faith
in Action March 2008:
A Holy Week
Those of us in the Christian tradition are grappling with
a Holy Week that includes the fifth
anniversary of the invasion of Iraq.
What does it mean to remember Jesus'
death at the same time that we reflect
on our nation’s five year occupation
of Iraq? |
The
Alliance for Nuclear Accountability
Presents: DC DAYS 2008
COMMUNITIES
IN THE CROSSHAIRS: Nuclear Weapons,
Power & Waste Target Our Security
& Environment
April 13-16, 2008, Washington,
DC
Advocacy and training about nuclear
issues:
- Learn
from experts and maximize your
impact
- Meet
with Members of Congress
- Network
with activists from across the
country
www.ananuclear.org
or email kmatsakis@ananuclear.org |
 |
Go
Run is a weekend
long training dedicated to
equipping you, the future
candidate, with the skills
to run and win. |
- Colorado
Go Run | March 28 - 30, 2008,
Englewood, CO
- Iron
Range Go Run | April 11 - 13.
2008, Tower, MN
- Ohio
Go Run | June 6 - 8, 2008, Columbus,
OH
|
IDEAS,
VISIONS, RESOURCES FOR
A BETTER WORLD |
 |
"Scarred
Lands and Wounded Lives: The
Environmental Footprint of
War"
opened nationwide
March 11, 2008 |
Our
public policy director, Marie
Rietmann, makes an appearance!
"Scarred
Lands" shows how war and
preparations for war further compromise
the environmental health of a
planet already under stress from
massive population increases,
unsustainable demands on natural
resources and ruinous environmental
practices. More
information.
|
|
Award-wining
documentary "Body of War"
world premiere April
11, 2008 at Kendall Square, Boston,
MA
"Body of War" follows
the return home of Tomas Young,
a 26-year-old veteran shot and
paralyzed after serving in Iraq
for less than a week. In parallel,
the film also captures the debate
in the Congress in the fall of
2002 authorizing the war. The
movie was voted "Best Documentary
of the Year" by the National
Board of Review, nominated for
"Best Documentary" by
the Producers Guild of America.
More
information.
|
Student
Pugwash USA launches science policy
election guide for young voters
Addressing questions about climate
change, energy security, and other
concerns expressed by young voters
in a recent survey, Student Pugwash
USA launched From
Electrons to Elections, a science
and technology policy guide to the
2008 elections. |
 |
WAND
Education Fund participates
in some great online shopping/giving
options. We
encourage you to participate!
-
Click
here for amazon.com. (You
won't even see it happen.)
-
Click
here for iGive.com. (You'll
need to specify WAND Education
Fund as your cause.)
-
Click
here for GoodShop. (You'll
need to specify WAND Education
Fund as your cause.)
And
it's not just books! Oh,
no. It's toys, groceries, DVDs,
magazines, and even gift certificates!
It's all good. |
 |
Be
part of a powerful community
of women and men leading our
country to a secure future!
*
To
join using a credit
card online,
click
here.
|
Click
here and you'll find out
more.
Click
here and you'll find
out all about what our chapters
and partners are planning for this
month.
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
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WAND
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Bulletin Board. Please send text in
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Statements
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To
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Your membership makes this work possible.
Thank
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©
2008 WAND. |
