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Introductory training session for anyone seeking to help GIs know their legal options
Sunday, June 21, 4:30-6:30
Joy Mennonite Church, 504 NE 16th, OKC
A workshop entitled AWOL No More: (Relatively) Painless Processing Out of the Army will be offered on Sunday June 21 at 4:30 pm. The program will help volunteers learn about the regulations concerning AWOL soldiers and how to help them return to civilian life by turning themselves in and, when eligible, being processed through the Army’s PCF at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma. The Ft. Sill facility is one of only two in the U.S. where “absent without leave” service members who meet certain requirements can surrender and be discharged.
Leading the workshop will be James M. Branum, an attorney with a private practice specializing in military law who has worked with hundreds of soldiers to facilitate their surrender to and separation from the Army. Branum is the supervising attorney with the Oklahoma GI Rights Hotline, serves on the board of the National Lawyers Guild’s Military Law Task Force and is a co-founder of the Oklahoma Center for Conscience.
”No special experience or knowledge is required for the workshop,” Branum said, “and it can serve as an introductory level training for anyone interested in going on to become a volunteer counselor with the Oklahoma hotline.” He added that the session also would be useful for family and friends of AWOL servicemembers who are concerned about the repercussions of being absent without leave.
The Oklahoma GI Rights Hotline, which is not affiliated with the military, provides free, confidential, and accurate information on US military regulations and practices to servicemembers, veterans, potential recruits, and their families.
Because of Ft. Sill’s status as a PCF base, Oklahoma-based volunteers are in increasing demand in both counseling and non-counseling positions, to provide information, assistance, and in some cases to transport and/or accompany GI’s to the facility.
The event is free and refreshments will be provided. Donations for the Oklahoma GI Rights Hotline will be gratefully accepted.
For more information, call the Oklahoma Center for Conscience at 405-236-4938 ext. 2.
This post was originally published at Oklahoma Center for Conscience by Peace Arena author Rena. You can read the original here
(in some cases, the version above may only be an excerpt; to continue reading, click). There may also be responses at the original webpage that do not appear on this site.
… Open Secrets shared a truly repulsive open secret this morning when they revealed the immense sums of special interest money going to candidates who will be voting on their legislative priorities. On a day when many of us have been feeling badly for Iranians who saw their dreams and hopes for democracy dashed, it’s very sad to read how systemically corrupt our own government is.
Most of the world was moved by Tank Man, the unknown rebel to the Chinese government’s violent crackdown on the student democracy movement in Tienanmen Square during the Spring of 1989.
But I was moved intensely enough write a poem that those who have seen my small body of work say is probably the best I’ve written. Anyway, I really identified with the man, since I was working then (much as now) as virtually a full time peace and justice activist. His solitary statement was a symbol of individual resistance, the importance of even just one person making a stand for what is right.
Today is the 20th anniversary of Tank Man’s stand. In some ways, it seems to me like much longer, but I also feel like it was not but a year or two ago. Most of those 20 years have not been particularly productive ones for me — but that’s another post. It’s a time to remember, and to be grateful that democracy continues to be sought and practiced more and more around the world, however imperfectly. Some of the students who were at Tienanmen Square 20 years ago even say that China itself has become better (an article in today’s Oklahoman quotes a man who now teaches as OSU), though there are many who would argue with that. There are protests taking place in cities around the world, to call for real change for the people in China.
The fact that China has blocked a lot of internet sites for the past week or so doesn’t indicate much improvement to me — except for the fact that the intrinsically democratic medium of the Internet is a bloody headache for tyrants to control. In my opinion, if the US really wanted to spread democracy around the globe, they would make broadband freely available via satellites to every spot on the globe.
Images of Tank Man are continuing to be newly revealed — enhancing our understanding of that moment — and art created. Because passion for and commitment to love, peace and human rights will always inspire.
So here’s my little contribution to the genre. I have only altered it from the version I produced in a few hours 20 years ago in that I removed Roman numerals over each stanza, which I now do not know why I thought was a good idea. It was previously published in the Palmetto Post, a newspaper of the Florida Green Party.
(I’ve posted the poem as an image, because I have not figured out yet how I want to publish my poetry, if at all, and would like to lessen the chance of it being used until that time. I would ask that if you want to share it, that you link to this post rather than download the image. Contact me for other arrangements. Thanks.)
With apologies for the last minute nature of this event, you are invited to join us to support an Oklahoma man who is one of the Iraq war resisters in Canada who is facing deportation. Let’s show support for one of our own.
[And please pass this info on if you have time in the short time frame.]
Date/time: 10-11 AM, 6/3/09
Place: Joy Mennonite Church, 504 NE 16th, Oklahoma City (just a few blocks south of Capitol on Lincoln)
There will be an event for Joshua in Toronto tomorrow, and we decided to do a solidarity event here in Oklahoma. Here’s details from the event organizer, James M. Branum, one of Joshua Key’s attorneys.
Josh grew up in Guthrie, Oklahoma. After joining the Army, he later deployed to Iraq where he had a horrific time (as detailed in his book “The Deserter’s Tale”).
He then came back to the US and while on leave, left his unit and hid out for some time before making his way to Canada.
Josh is now fighting it out in the court-system in Canada to get to stay and on June 3rd he will be facing one of the most significant fights of this struggle.
Our friends in Canada are holding a vigil tomorrow in Toronto outside the Immigration and Refugee Board while the hearing is taking place, so I would like for us to have a similar demonstration here.
So starting at 10 a.m., I’m asking participants to meet at the Peace Pole on the grounds of Joy Mennonite Church, We’ll have a time of quiet meditation and/or prayers (for those so inclined) and then we’ll walk a few blocks north to the state capitol, where we will deliver a statement in support of Joshua Key to the Governor’s office, the Republican and Democratic leaders of the state legislature and to the press.
Participants are welcome to bring small signs and banners for the walk but know that they probably won’t let you take them into the state capitol building.
And if you can’t come to the walk, please write a letter of encouragement to Josh and send it to:
Joshua Key
c/o Joy Mennonite Church
504 NE 16th St.
Oklahoma City, OK 73104
You can also email letters to me at girightslawyer@gmail.com
We’ll then forward the letters to Josh by way of his attorney in Canada.
Lastly, I’ll post more information soon on other ways we in Oklahoma can support Josh from a-far.
Marking the 70th anniversary of the publication of John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, today The Oklahoman had a story — front page — about the evolution of the term “Okie” from slur (intentional or perceived) to proud label of strength against adversity. A sidebar story looked at reactions to the book through history.
Quoted in the article (and this really impressed me, so credit where it’s due), was Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, a native “Okie” who now lives in San Francisco. They mentioned her book, Red Dirt: Growing Up Okie, which is certainly appropriate for the topic at hand, but she’s a radical lefty (the subtitle of her site is “feminist, revolutionary, historian”), so getting a plug in The Oklahoman was unexpected (by me, anyway).
OPUBCO also produced a video about the how residents of Sallisaw, Oklahoma — where Steinbeck’s fictional Joad family was from — feel about the use of their town in the book (see below). The Dust Bowl didn’t hit Sallisaw much, and I suspect the town was used because of the emotional resonance of its name. Anyway, many of them are still miffed about it, and profess not to like the book or film, though it’s doubtful they’ve read it since a teacher in the video seems to indicate that they are not made to read the iconic novel, and can substitute another Steinbeck work. That way it’s much easier to continue to perpetrate the myth that Steinbeck was maligning poor folk from Oklahoma.
Anyway, it’s worth a look at the graphically enhanced online feature that expands the sidebar story from the dead tree edition into somewhat broader overview of the book’s history of controversy and acclaim.
Had a great time tonight going to the Amy Goodman talk in Lawton, sponsored by KCCU. Drove down with a vanful of interesting activists of various backgrounds and experiences, had a rushed dinner at Garfields (because the burgers were way overdone, not ‘carefully cooked to perfect medium well’ or whatever the b.s. was from the waitress) then a thrill to see a huge crowd for the anti-corporate-media independent-media star.
I’ve uploaded my interview with the KCCU station manager to my YouTube channel. You can find it here.
Oh Lordy, Jed Lewison the vid genius of Daily Kos TV was on fire today, providing us off mic revelations from Fox News employees. In this clip, Fox News’ John Gibson (he now has a radio gig, but used to have a TV show), who was in Tulsa to cover the event, could not get away fast enough from what even he clearly considered a waste of his time. “The second this is over, I’m on vacation,” he said, not trying in the least to hide his boredom.
My friend David attended and got some pics and other impressions, which I posted earlier.
But he also was brave enough to do an interview with the local event organizer and challenge on his (David’s) premise that Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh would feel right at home with the teabaggers (sic).
David managed to top that, though, by being interviewed by the local ABC affiliate during their coverage, and his soundbite brought a rare moment of sanity to today’s proceedings. (That clip isn’t available on KOCO’s web site, alas.)
Another citizen journalist/photographer, Flickr user 1980Andrew, posted some great photos with brief commentary. He got some very good shots of some of the signage, which included such highlights as “Abort Obama, not the Unborn” Stimulus Equals Slavery,” “Taxes Are Stealing,” and my personal favorite from OKC: “No $$$ for Illegals,” which really crystallizes the whole subtext (other than the sexual one that “teabagging” provides) of this sad, deluded “movement.”
My favorite from the whole day (see update below) was a picture I saw linked on Huffpo of a woman who had parked her folding chair securely on a nice level sidewalk, so she could safely and comfortably hold her sign reading “Zero Taxes.” I give you the American conservative, ladies and gentlemen.
Here’s the definitive post that debunks any residual notion that this “movement” is in anyway “grassroots,” courtesy of Jane Hamsher.
And finally, with that knowledge, Keith Olbermann on his show tonight gave the perfect smackdown to those stupid enough to (once again) be used by the rich and powerful in their continual campaign to keep themselves rich and powerful by deluding the masses through the media they own and control — Damn! They don’t have it on the videos, I’ll quote from the transcript when it’s available. (it’s the third and final item in “Still Bushed,” starting at 1:40 I’ve replaced the video with one that just uses the pertinent segment, which I got from this DKos diary, where a transcript and other relevant info on the topic can be found):
With apologies for the last minute nature of this event, you are invited to join us to support an Oklahoma man who is one of the Iraq war resisters in Canada who is facing deportation. Let’s show support for one of our own.
