Cindy Sheehan and Michael Moore are among those who have posted this message from the owner of the Crawford Peace House, who needs help if he is to keep it beyond this Tuesday. It would be wonderful if we could save it and turn it into a peace museum and resource center. In my opinion, it would need a new owner and management, but that’s an issue to take up if we can save it. I just cringe to think of how an unfriendly buyer will turn the place against the movement that created something powerful there in 2005!

I thought you might want to know the situation, and possibly want to help and spread the news — but time is of the essence. There’s an email address for Johnny Wolf, the house’s owner, in his letter below, which you can use for contact and/or to send a donation via Paypal.

FROM JOHNNY WOLF:

The Best investment I ever made

Seven years ago, I made a down payment on a house in Crawford Texas. On Easter Sunday 2003, it became the Crawford Texas Peace House.

We committed to being there until Bush was out of the White House, and we kept that commitment. Those years were important years for me and for the peace movement.

For a little over a year we have had a new administration and the wars we set out to stop continue and have to spread to Pakistan and still threaten Iran. The relevance of Crawford’s Western White House and our resistance has all become a significant part of history.

No, the mortgage did not get paid. I have not been able to meet my financial obligations on the Peace House, and I am five payments behind.

The Peace House is scheduled for a Foreclosure Auction on Tuesday morning on the steps of McLennan County Court House, April 6,

There is an offer to purchase the house for 10,000.00 less than what is owed. My personal situation will not allow me to take the offer. It needs a new owner 48,000.00 is owed on the mortgage. 4,000.00 will bring it current and cover legal fees.

If you are interested in a future for the Peace House please email me at WOLFISHQ@gmail.com

If an unfriendly entity purchases the house we will be served an eviction notice and must vacate the premises.

Thanks for all the Brave Souls that came here to make a difference.

In Peace and in Loving service,

Johnny Wolf
Co-founder, Crawford Texas Peace House

It may be only 25%, but it’s a good first step, and helps build trust with our old cold war enemy. Frankly I wouldn’t be surprised if Obama found them easier to work with than Republicans in DC. Anyway, he is to be applauded for this critical step in making our world safer.

Treaty Advances Obama’s Nuclear Vision

If President Obama signs the treaty with President Dmitri A. Medvedev of Russia in Prague on April 8 as expected, it will give Mr. Obama a stronger hand heading into two back-to-back nuclear summit meetings where he wants to push toward the nuclear weapons-free world he envisions. At the two meetings, Mr. Obama hopes to forge international consensus to limit the spread of weapons and secure materials that could be vulnerable to terrorists, efforts that could be accelerated by the new treaty.

The agreement has to be approved by Congress, naturally. Get ready for a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth by the Cheney family and their warmongering fan club, including the Oklahoma delegation.

Oscar Romero

“If they kill me, I will be resurrected in the Salvadoran people”

Archbishop Oscar Romero was assassinated as he celebrated mass in San Salvador on March 24, 1980, 30 years ago today. He was killed because he empowered the poor instead of just promising them a glorious afterlife.

Though his murder was never properly investigated and prosecuted, it’s widely believed that the man who killed him was a leader of the Salvadoran death squads who was taught his deadly skills by the U.S. Army at the School of the Americas, which was renamed “Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation” when the SOA’s reputation got too ugly to fix with the standard lies and spin. Presto, a new name and the Army feels all fresh and new. But the training in suppression of popular democratic movements goes on (yes, even under Obama), courtesy of our tax dollars. Every year near Thanksgiving, SOA Watch holds a national action outside Ft. Benning, where the SOA/WHINSEC operates.

*Oscar Romero has not been canonized by the Catholic Church, and probably never will be. They don’t like his kind, and would not be interested in making him a positive example for their clergy or congregants.

New England United Antiwar Conference MIT Jan 30, 2010
Panel #1 The Drive Towards Empire and Endless War
Bruce Gagnon, Global Network

I worked with Bruce in his early days as a nuclear freeze activist in Orlando, Florida. He was a pretty good speaker and budding leader, though I had some minor issues with his style, but I had no idea he would go on to become a globally recognized nuclear arms/weapons expert with Space for Peace. He’s been a tireless activist, speaker, writer and dissident who tells the truth to a world that mostly doesn’t want to listen.

Here are my photos from today’s demonstration against Obama’s escalation of the war in Afghanistan.

The turnout was pathetic. I’m sure there are many reasons why. Even while Bush was still in office, there were fewer and fewer people coming to various events. But once Obama was elected, interest in the actions really evaporated, with some justification, with many saying we had to give Obama “a chance.”

Welll, he’s had his chance, and is not responding well, in my opinion, and in the opinion of many in the peace movement (which goes on, regardless of what party is in power or what individual is in office).

No one was under the illusion that Obama was a pacifist. But he did say he was against “stupid wars” and that he would work to end the occasion of war. He is not keeping that promise with this escalation.

There are probably many who would come to a protest against Bush’s wars, who won’t come near one against Obama’s. But there will continue to be a need for such public statements, and enough who will continue to consistently call for an end to American aggression, imperialism and global thuggery.

Here are some sites where the consistent message goes on, or is being newly expressed.

The Old Stalwarts
World Can’t Wait
United for Peace and Justice
Code Pink
After Downing Street
Voters for Peace
War Resisters League
Win Without War

Some new groups/alliances
EndUSWars.org
Peace of the Action

I will be joining The Peace House folks and others tomorrow at a demonstration to say No to Escalation in Afghanistan. (I think there is also something planned for Tulsa [link added 2009-12-01].)

I will also be contacting my reps to once again say, end the war and find civilian solutions: Contact Congress & White House

Oklahoma City Demonstration:
NO to ESCALATION in AFGHANISTAN
Tuesday, December 1st
4:30-5:30 pm
NW 23rd Street & Classen Blvd.
Bring signs – - We will have ours.

Peace House Statement on Afghanistan, Nov. 14th
BRING TROOPS HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS

• After eight (8) long years of war, we speak in unity: U.S. Military forces must be brought home.
• Military victory appears unachievable, or at the very least unsustainable.
• Our continued presence guarantees further escalation of long-standing anti-American sentiments.
• A surge in U.S. troop numbers will generate dramatic increases of casualties of our troops and Afghani civilians.
• We risk and even wider and deadlier regional conflict.
• Reconstruction and stability should be initiated and sustained by international peace-keeping entities and< non-governmental organizations.
• Urgent domestic budget priorities demand a redirection of our tax revenues from war in Afghanistan to meeting human needs at home. Thirteen million Americans are unemployed in this economic downturn.
• We petition Congress, and the Obama administration, to initiate withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan before the end of the year.

Here’s the text of our invitational flyer:

TEACH PEACE
WORKSHOP TO SHOWCASE ALTERNATIVES
TO MILITARY RECRUITMENT,
KICK OFF EDUCATIONAL CAMPAIGN

Monday, 8-10-2009, 6:30 – 9:00 pm
Joy Mennonite Church, 504 16th St, Oklahoma City
(corner of Lincoln and 16th, just south of Capitol)

Please join the Oklahoma Center for Conscience on Monday August 10 for a dynamic workshop on “counter-recruitment” or making sure youth have full information about the military and a wide range of options for constructive public service and caring careers. The recruiters have unprecedented access to students; we want to offer another view, and make sure their right for access to all the facts is honored.

The workshop will kick off a concerted effort in OKC and across the state to make sure our youth do not feel compelled to join the military for lack of other practical options and opportunities.

All are welcome. The workshop is free of charge; donations for our CR outreach is greatly appreciated. If you can’t make the workshop, but would like to donate, see www.centerforconscience.org

For more info, call 405-771-4743 or 405-615-2700. Or visit www.centerforconscience.org

Experienced CR activists from Fort Worth and Austin will share with us the resources and techniques they use to reach young people with an important message about the realities of war and military life. A report from the recent national CR conference will be part of the agenda.

Presenters:

Yvette Richardson is a U. S. Army veteran, who was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas from 1992 – 1997. While serving five years on active duty as a Military Police officer, she deployed to Honduras, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and Bosnia-Herzegovina. When not serving as a client advocate for domestic violence victims, she works as a community activist in Fort Worth, Texas. She is co-coordinator of the counter-recruitment organization, Peaceful Vocations, and of CodePink Fort Worth. Yvette holds a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from the University of Texas at Arlington.

Diane Wood is a native Texan, a community organizer in areas of social justice for the past 30 years, and a retired Registered Nurse. She is a co-coordinator of Peaceful Vocations, a counter-military recruitment group serving North Texas. She’s been involved in nuclear and anti-war issues, Central American issues, local poverty issues, and a local movement to stop urban gas drilling. Diane led a coalition to establish a shelter in Fort Worth for Central American Refugees, and was the director of the shelter. She recently founded a local coalition, The Texas Christian University Divest and Boycott Israel Campaign.

Hart Viges joined the Army in reaction to the events of 9-11. He was with the 82nd Airborne Div. in 2003 when they invaded Iraq. Shortly after returning in January 2004, he applied and received Conscientious Objector status. Hart is a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War and works with Nonmilitary Options for Youth.

Below is our press release and a flyer (with the text above) you can print — please feel free to share.

2009 CR Workshop flyer

2009 CR Workshop news release

Documentary video explores the hidden wounds of war

Date: Wednesday, 7/21
Time: 6:30 pm
Place: Joy Mennonite Church, 504 NE 16th, OKC

The Oklahoma Center for Conscience and Oklahoma GI Rights Hotline invite you to a screening of the film “PTSD: Invisible Wounds of War” on Tuesday, July 21 at 6:30 pm at Joy Mennonite Church in Oklahoma City. After the film, there will be a discussion led by Nathanial Batchelder, a medic in Vietnam and director of Oklahoma City Peace House, Phyllis Byerly, a retired psychologist, and James Branum, a lawyer specializing in military law and supervising attorney for the Oklahoma GI Rights Hotline.

The film presents information about the vast scope of the problem, the potentially severe consequences, and the necessity to seek help. Veterans, elected officials and therapists who specialize in PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) explain the condition and discuss what resources are available and what needs to be improved in treatment and public policy.

The event is free and open to the public. Joy Mennonite is located at 504 NE 16th Street, on the corner of Lincoln.

For more information, email info@centerforconscience.org or call 405-236-4938, ext. 2.

[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.

–*– end of message from James

Several moving speeches were given, including by Gold Star fathers Warren Henthorn and John Scripsick, who lost their sons in Iraq. The Oklahoma Eyes Wide Open Exhibit was also on display, with 73 pairs of boots representing the Oklahomans who died in Iraq.

Here’s the speech by Veteran and conscientious objector Daniel Sandate, who now lives in OKC and is a peace activist and counter recruitment counselor.

(Sorry again for the shaky camera, haven’t got a tripod yet.)