Sunday, March 18, 2007

Many Rally For Peace This Weekend Marking 4 Years Of War

This weekend markes the 4th anniversary of the US invasion on Iraq. Many showed up in protest of this war to show how much we care for human life. The other side of the divide showed up to this march on DC too. Only they were nasty vile people who tore up signs and spat on the people walking for peace. The people who support this war are friggin nuts IMO. These people only care about themselves. They are kings in their world. Everyone who disagrees with them, they feel, don't belong in this country. Their mean nasty people whom we have to live with. They are the ones bringing down our country.

The peace bag you see in this picture was made by me for Melida. She carries it with here all the time. I made one like it for Cindy Sheehan and her sister Dee Dee too. Mel uses hers, Thanks Mel! (I made one for myself too) I also made Carlos a gold star flag he carries around with him.

May peace be inside all of us so we don't have to do this for year 5,
Cindy




The mean and nasty people


With Big Brother ready to take us all down



There are less and less on the other side of the divide these days. More and more people are supporting the troops by wanting to save their lives and bring them home to their families



Four years since this mess began...My memories of Alex....By Melica Arredondo

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Where's the Peace Movement of the 60's? Online.

Where Is The Anti-War Movement?

Activists insist movement is working online and behind the scenes instead of marching.

More than half of the U.S. population thinks the war in Iraq is a failure. The president's approval rating has hovered below 30 percent because of discontent with the conflict — and there is no end in sight to the violence and American casualties inflicted by a mostly unseen, easily disguised enemy.

Although the Bush administration insists that the war in Iraq is not headed in the same direction as the Vietnam War, evidence increasingly suggests that the two conflicts are eerily similar ... except for one crucial factor: Where is today's protest movement?

It's out there — it's just not marching on Washington every week.

Before the war began in 2003, millions of people mobilized in protests across the globe to voice their opposition to the war in one of the largest protests of its kind in history. But since then, despite some occasional large-scale gatherings and media-grabbing activity by Cindy Sheehan, the mother of an American soldier killed in Iraq, the anti-war movement in the U.S. has been largely been unseen and unheard by the general public.

But even though it hasn't drawn the attention of reporters and cameras, key organizers of the anti-war movement say it's bigger than ever, and its size far exceeds the more photogenic Vietnam protests, which are credited with putting pressure on presidents Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon to end U.S. involvement, as well as turning the tide of public opinion against the war.

"Protests are just one form of getting involved," said Tom Matzzie, Washington Director for MoveOn.org. "There are a lot of people getting involved in their communities, through elections and their college campuses. The Internet has made it easy for people to get involved to stop the war — and millions and millions of Americans log on to stop the war."

While a 500,000-strong anti-war rally was staged in Washington on January 27, the real engine for the movement is on the Web. On a daily basis, sites like MoveOn.org, Andrewsullivan.com and United for Justice & Peace (http://www.unitedforpeace.org/) are trying to help kept the fires of dissent stoked, while YouTube has emerged as a platform for user-generated protest of all stripes.

In January, a YouTuber named Warren25smash uploaded a curious three minute video in which the calm, sometimes profane Englishman urged people to post their own videos with the message "get out of Iraq." Hundreds complied, from a hand-drawn, peace-sign-laden animated clip set to the tune of the Kinks' "You Really Got Me" (with a chorus of "Get out of Iraq") to a trippy five-minute song decrying the war in which a breathless MC posting as Cheeryvibez asks, "What's happened to our dreams of world peace?!" over a driving techno beat.

These protesters generally have little kind to say about Bush, but few flame the president as hard as Timz (a.k.a. Tom Hanna), an American-born rapper of Iraqi descent who eviscerates the war and the commander in chief in the clip for his song, "Iraq." Wearing a black hoodie and rapping in front of a background that shifts from the desert to quick-cut images of dead bodies, exploding shells and prisoner abuses at Abu Ghraib, the smooth-flowing MC raps, "Dear Mr. George Bush, why do you insist to make a fool of us?/ For over 200 years we stood for what's good, now we're despised by our peers/ And what do you do but add fuel to the fire and send in more troops."

The song, which bumps on a Middle Eastern groove, features the ready-for-radio refrain, "There's a war goin' on outside/ No birds 'round here, just bullets that fly/ There's a war goin' on outside/ There's death everywhere but I feel so alive."

Timz said he was inspired to record the song more than a year ago because of his ethnic heritage, as well as his anger as an American over the way the war was being conducted. "Ever since the beginning of the war, my heart wasn't into it, I didn't agree with it ... Looking at everything, you kind of feel helpless," he said.

"What ever happened to WMD's? What happened to all of that stuff that our soldiers are risking their lives for?" he continued. "So it's like, 'How can I get my voice heard, how can I say something and make a difference?' So naturally, being a musician, if you're making music, you put a lot of feelings and thoughts and emotions into your song, and I have plenty of thoughts and emotions and feelings about the war, so it's just natural that I'm gonna put my message out through music."

The rapper said that he's hoping that by using hip-hop as his medium he'll inspire more young people to get involved.

There may be more receptive ears out there than he expects. One activist estimates that the anti-Iraq peace movement is probably more robust than the Vietnam war movement was: Judith LeBlanc, national co-chair of the group United for Peace & Justice, the nation's largest peace coalition, with more than 1,400 member groups. "From my vantage point, I think we're seeing, in a very short period of time, an incredible amount of organizing and activity," LeBlanc said. "Now you have protests [like the one in January] and you also have this incredible congressional pressure going on because of the shift after the recent elections."

LeBlanc said that during one recent week of the debate on the recent troop "surge" in Iraq in Congress, nearly 1 million phone calls and e-mails were sent to members of Congress stating opposition to the war. "When you tabulate the numbers, it far outstrips the opposition to the Vietnam War over a 10-year period," she said. "This war caused record numbers of people to vote in the midterm elections and the biggest thing that reflects how broad this movement is: For four years there have been hundreds and hundreds of regular vigils that take place in small towns in neighborhoods and in big cities every week."

Unlike the past, when big marches in Washington and New York made headlines, MoveOn's executive director, Eli Pariser, said the Internet age has allowed organizations like his to coordinate protests in 1,000 cities across the country, which he thinks might even better illustrate to members of Congress that their constituents are upset about the war.

"I think people are opposing the war in different ways than they used to," he said. "I think they are giving money to candidates who are against the war; helping change elections to propel people who are against the war into office; I think they're doing things locally. We had 1,000 events across the country the day after President Bush announced his escalation plan (see "President Bush Orders 21,500 More Troops To Iraq; Democrats Blast Plan") — so it's not all about big marches anymore, but that's just a tip of the iceberg.

"There are millions of people in this country who are upset about the direction of this war and want Congress to do something to change it. We aren't going to take no for an answer, and we want to facilitate that in every way that we can."


This generation of student activists are no where in sight

Scott Allen

I was asked by an older friend recently, who vividly remembered the student protests during the Vietnam War, why hasn't there been mass student protests against the war in Iraq at Sacramento State?

The student protests that went on during the Vietnam War were not only massive, but helped bring the Vietnam War to an end. Four years into the Iraq War, and it is evident that our presence there is adversely affecting the Iraqi population, stability in the Middle East and our own security. There appears to be no end in sight.

If this war is so abhorrent as current opinion polls show, where have all the protesters gone who numbered in the millions worldwide before and during the invasion of Iraq in 2003, before thousands of American soldiers, American and foreign civilian contractors and Iraqi civilians were slaughtered?

The war in Iraq has little popular support as more body bags are zipped up each day. According to the U.S. Department of Defense, 1,614 of the 2,988 American war dead as of January of 2007were 24 years of age or younger. To date, the total number of American military deaths stands at 3,162. Over half the soldiers killed could easily be sitting in a college classroom. So, where have the protests gone?

In late 2002, Associated Students, Inc. board members approved a pro-peace resolution that opposed a first-strike military attack on Iraq. Sac State students and faculty held an anti-war demonstration in 2003. More recently, in February, there were student protests at many of the UCs in California as well as Sonoma State, San Francisco State and other colleges across the nation such as New York University and North Carolina at Greensboro. Where are the anti-war demonstrations at Sac State? After discussing with my friend why Sac State in particular has not had an inclusive, robust protest movement, I tried to come up with a few answers.

Our school lacks cohesion, comradery and community. Sac State is a commuter school, the major sports teams aren't great and it is not well known for academics. I don't feel a real sense of belonging. There is no school spirit as exists at universities such as Duke, UCLA or Ohio State. It seems that many students put their blinders on and go to class, they don't join clubs, they don't read much, they don't have time for extracurricular activities because of work or they simply don't care.

Maybe some just want their C-average degree so they can get a job. I believe many in my generation are apathetic and disinterested in anything that doesn't deal with American Idol, Britney Spears, fraternities, Hollywood, The Hills, MySpace and drinking. With no sense of comradery, no sense of community and belonging and the distractions that the entertainment industry inundates America's youth with, it is small wonder why the students here don't organize to do something that could really cause change in our nation.

I didn't realize that I too was perpetuating the silence, the apathy and the hopelessness that sometimes comes with being young and feeling like one can't affect change. Maybe people feel the same way I do, but are simply looking for someone to lead. Maybe people are afraid to speak out against the war because they might be branded as unpatriotic or seen as not supporting the troops. Personally, I can think of no greater patriotic action than propagating a movement to bring our fellow Americans home and out of harm's way. Contrary to current rhetoric from supporters of the war, one can oppose the war and at the same time support our troops, or at least empathize with their plight.

Our college years are supposed to be times of change, to me to discover a sense of responsibility and activism. I hesitated to write an "End the War in Iraq" column because, at first, I figured I had nothing new to say. However, I realized that silence on something as costly as the debacle in Iraq was absolutely dangerous and that we must do something.

I think our generation seriously needs to examine what kind of world we want to live in, one of peace or one of perpetual war. Protesting for an end to a war isn't just about showing the devastation of war. It is about normal citizens being able to make a change. We can't rely on entertainers or Cindy Sheehan to do the work for us. If you don't want this war to continue, then say so. It is about standing up and saying, "No more!"

Regardless of what your major is or what your interests or hobbies are, as an American, this war affects you every single day. It may affect you because you know a soldier in Iraq or have lost a friend or loved one in Iraq. It affects your bank account as well. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the Iraq war is costing U.S taxpayers $8 billion to $10 billion a month.

The CBO also states that the recent troop surge will cost an additional, "$9 billion to $13 billion for a four-month deployment and from $20 billion to $27 billion for a 12-month deployment, depending on the total number of troops deployed and including additional costs that would be incurred during the build-up and ramp-down periods."

This could be the issue that defines our generation and our century. It is imperative that we, as students, take back our country because we will have no one to blame but ourselves 20 years from now when people are saying, "Why didn't someone do something?" I ask all Sac State clubs, organizations, individuals, ASI, faculty and anyone else to once again start a movement to end this war. The CSU system has nearly half a million students and faculty. We have the numbers and we have a voice. We can be the change, we can help our brothers and sisters come home.

Scott Allen can be reached at opinion@statehornet.com

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

Timz Rap

Carlos Arredondo "breaking the bubble" at Harvard

I haven't talked with Melida in a couple of weeks. I was wondering what Carlos was doing. I had a feeling he has been home for a while. He is home but still sharing Alex with new people and making a difference.

May peace be inside all of us,
Cindy


Deflating the Bubble

Last Friday, I was caught red-handed inside my Harvard bubble. I had just finished what I was convinced was a draining week of work, and I was preoccupied by the fact that I didn’t bring enough money to buy both a cookie and coffee from Peets.

Walking back to my dorm with my coffee, I noticed a green pickup truck with an odd-looking trailer parked near the Yard. Closer inspection revealed that it was in fact a rolling memorial to Alex Arredondo, a Marine from Boston who died at age 20 in Najaf, Iraq in August 2004.

I very quickly became captivated by what I saw: a picture of a sheet-white body in a coffin, a description of the last hours of Arredondo’s life, a letter to his parents from a naval transport en route to Iraq, and, most chillingly, a line in Arredondo’s life story that said he had enlisted at age 17. As I examined the coffin, the military boots, and the dog tags arrayed on the truck, the soldier’s father, Carlos Arredondo, walked up to me.

It was clear he was used to interacting with people who don’t know what in the world to say to him. According to the Boston Globe, this man had, upon hearing of his son’s death, flown into a blind rage and set fire to himself and the truck of the Marines who had brought the bad news.

Although he was fully physically healed, I still sensed some vast emptiness within him when he shook my hand. Suddenly, it became painfully clear that each one of the 3,166 American fatalities in the Iraq war—and war casualties everywhere—shatters a universe of cherished hopes for the family of the deceased.

It’s rare to encounter such a clear breach in the Harvard bubble. Most of us seem to refer to the “bubble” as if it were some geographical feature of Harvard Square. But it is as much mental as physical. We make conscious choices every day to protect ourselves by ignoring: We skip over the horrors of another article about more carnage in Iraq, or gingerly step around destitute homeless people in Harvard square. This willful ignorance grows out of a Harvard culture that makes it too easy to lose a sense of time and place and simply melt into a state of mind focused only on books and tests, parties and pregames.

It’s easy to forget that each day, people make decisions and face losses whose personal impacts dwarf those that most of us behind the Ivy gates of Harvard ever encounter. At 17—the age at which Alex Arredondo made the fateful decision to join the Marines—my toughest decision was whether or not to play hookey from school. I can’t imagine signing a declaration of my willingness to die for any cause—political views on Iraq aside. At 19, as I ponder my current toughest decisions—whether to take a class with one Nobel laureate or another—I hope that something I’m learning here will prepare me for the kind of decisions and hardship that we must all face at some point.

Jonathan B. Steinman ’10, a Crimson sports editor, lives in Grays Hall.

Friday, March 02, 2007

How many will join "Gathering of Eagles", 23% ?

I've been thinking about when I will change the name of my blog. I don't feel so divided with the rest of the country anymore. I feel after talking with so many people who cross my path that we aren't divided as much anymore. There aren't many of us that like what's going on in Iraq these days

Poll Shows Bush Is Losing Support of Republicans

In the months since the Congressional elections, President Bush has lost substantial support among members of his own party, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll.

Mr. BushÂ’s approval rating dropped 13 percentage points since last fall among Republicans, 65 percent of whom now say they approve of the way he is handling his job as president, compared with 78 percent last October.

Over all, Mr. BushÂ’s job approval remains at one of its lowest points, with 29 percent of all Americans saying they approve of the way he is doing his job, compared with 34 percent at the end of October. Sixty-one percent disapproved, compared with 58 percent in October, within the margin of sampling error.

Twenty-three percent of those polled approved of the way Mr. Bush is dealing with the situation in Iraq. Twenty-five percent approved of his handling of foreign policy.

There's this group of people going to DC for the peace rally this month to show they approve of the war. They call it "our colors don't run". Melanie Morgan is pimping the event as much as she can. I wonder how many people she can get in her corner - the other side of the divide? Only 23 % approve what's going on.


Will you fly with the Eagles?

While you are reading this column, halfway around the world men and women just like you are risking their lives to ensure our freedom.

They are the brave souls who make up the United States Armed Forces, and they give up proximity to families and friends and endure often grueling and miserable conditions, aware of the fact that they might be injured or give their lives in service to their nation.



These people don't get we are not fighting for our freedom. The ones who are taking are freedom away aren't in Iraq. Their in our own government tapping our phones, reading our emails. These people don't support the troops or they wouldn't send our military to Iraq 6 times in 4 years. When they do get injured they don't care for them when they get home. All the stories are coming out this week how we take care of our 200,000 injured.
When was the last time an Islamic terrorist shot at you? Do you have any fears when you drive to work that a bomb might go off on the side of the road and kill you and the other people in your vehicle?

While we certainly have the best-trained and hardest-working military in the world, at times it seems like we don't have the most appreciative nation.

I can't tell you how much I love these young brave kids who would give up their lives for mine. The ones who don't appreciate them are the people who would use their lives for their own love of power and money. When is the game over? When I say "you win"? Ok, You win! Now can we bring these brave kids home?

For the past two years we've witnessed stepped up efforts by a vocal anti-military contingent, enabled by those in the mainstream media who are sympathetic to their agenda, doing everything they can to undermine public support for the missions of our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

One need not have a degree in psychology to understand the impact that negativity and second-guessing has on our troops, who return to their bases only to see long-haired, nose-pierced protesters out in the streets condemning them and their missions.

Having us Americans at home trying to save the lives of young kids who are in Iraq by screaming at the top of our lungs "stop protecting us" bring our kids home from Iraq does not dondem their mission in Iraq, Their Commander and chief is doing that, not us. He isn't giving them the supplies they need. He's not giving them the food, water, armor. He's not giving them they things they signed up for. He's the one breaking the military. Not the people in the streets screaming to be heard.

You and I know what the anti-war movement wants – they've made it very clear for months on end what their strategy is. They want to turn this war into another Vietnam War. They say this war is an "illegal" war just like Vietnam. They say our troops are indiscriminately killing, maiming and torturing innocent Iraqis just as they made similar allegations against our troops in Vietnam.

Come on, there are good and bad in the military. Some did torture, rape and kill. Both war's are the same. When will we learn our lesson? It will keep presenting itself until we learn.

If we sit back and do little more than express our disappointment and frustration with these tactics of the anti-war movement from the comfort of our homes, we will have allowed a tremendous dishonor and disgrace to be inflicted upon the men and women of the United States military.

Some brave Vietnam veterans, Col. Harry Riley and Capt. Larry Bailey, realized that it was time to stop fretting and time to start acting.

They've organized an effort to wake up and mobilize pro-troop supporters around the nation. They've put a call out to America's veterans, their families and those who support them to come together in a "Gathering of Eagles" – a patriotic effort where the service of past generations and the service of our troops today are honored and celebrated.

It all begins with a national patriotic and pro-troop caravan that is launched the morning of March 8 from San Francisco and then heads across this nation with 25 pro-troop rallies conducted at stops throughout America.

The pro-troop organization I lead, Move America Forward, is sponsoring this caravan, called "THESE COLORS DON'T RUN," and we will be collecting American flags at each city we stop in. The flags will be displayed in a giant, patriotic "Flag City" in Washington, D.C., on March 17, and then each flag will be sent to our troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Attached to each flag will be a note explaining who donated the flag and how it flew in honor of our troops and in appreciation of their service and sacrifice.

The complete caravan schedule can be viewed online. Find the city closest to you and figure out how you can join us.

The final destination of this caravan will be Washington, D.C., where pro-troop supporters and veterans' organizations will stand together in the "Gathering of Eagles" event for a patriotic celebration of our military men and women – both present and past. These "Eagles" will also be sure to protect our nation's war memorials and monuments from any attempts by anti-war protesters to vandalize or desecrate them.

I've been to many peace events. Never have I've seen people involved in the event destroy property. When I was in DC there were a hand full of punk teen kids walking around. If anyone is going to destroy anything it will be punk bad apple kids, not the people who want to end the war, save the lives of our military, bring them home to their families.

I've produced a video invitation to you and the rest of the good and decent people of this nation to take part in this effort: Watch the video invitation here.

Because the ones who are against the war aren't decent people...

Michelle Malkin is also doing her part to support this effort. She's pointed out that it's not a matter of what can you do, but a question of what will you do?

Dr. Laura Schlesinger, who has a son in the U.S. Army and who has visited our troops in Iraq, has put out her own call to action, urging her listeners to take part.

Fox News Channel's "Your World with Neil Cavuto" is already reporting on the growing momentum for this effort.

The other side of the divide..I will never understand these people.

You know what our troops go through and endure every day. You know how ruthless the terrorists are and how they seek to inflict pain and death upon our military men and women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

It's all about fear with them...

You know how a number of shameless and gutless politicians are trying to "undo" the resolution that supported our troops in Iraq. You know how the anti-war crowd is trying to create another "Vietnam War Culture" in America right now.

Those shameless and gutless politicians who are trying to undo the wrong done to this nation and our military by using their lives for no good reason.

So, the question raised by Michelle Malkin is the question of the hour: What will you do?

Please join this effort. Start by copying the link to this column at the top of your browser window, and forward this article on to everyone you know. All the links to information you need to participate in this effort are contained here in this column.

Find the cities our pro-troop caravan will be in on the way to Washington, D.C., during the March 8 to 17 window – and help alert pro-troop supporters and veterans groups in those areas. You can also help us get the word out to ensure we have big crowds at each of these rally stops along the way to D.C. Contact talk radio stations in those areas, and urge them to help build momentum for this effort.

Finally, and most importantly, do what you can to join with your fellow Americans under one proud, pro-troop and patriotic banner – a "Gathering of Eagles" – on Saturday, March 17 in Washington, D.C.

YES, We will see how many show up for their "lets kill more of our troops" rally. Lets see how many show up to end the mess Bush has made in Iraq.

May PEACE be inside ALL of us,
Cindy

Thursday, March 01, 2007

6 Times to Iraq In 4 Years. Who's Breaking The Military?

This is CRAZY! 6 trips to Iraq in 4 years? How much is enough?May peace be inside all of us for the sake of these young people who have to keep returning to the killing.

May peace be inside all...please may we find peace....Cindy


For 6th time in 4 years, West Palm Marine unit begins long trip to Iraq

WEST PALM BEACH -- For the sixth time in less than four years, a small band of young U.S. Marines left a small reserve center across the street from Palm Beach International Airport early Thursday to start a long journey to the war in Iraq. All stood erect and proud, and most were dry-eyed.


But they left torrents of tears in their wake.

"We love you, Carter," cried one of many in a group of family and friends who got up well before dawn to say farewell to Carter Allen, 22-year-old Palm Beach Gardens resident motivated to enlist after the 9-11 attacks. He is among 29 Marines with the 4th Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company (ANGLICO) who left Thursday from a unit that has been tapped six times since the war began in March 2003.

Some of those who began an expected six-month deployment were making a third trip to the war zone.

"He's a little scared. We're all scared," said Allen's mother, Cheryl Baker, 52, a manager with the Palm Beach County school system, as she struggled for composure. Her son was making his first trip to Iraq. "But some things are out of our contro," she said. "I have faith in God."

While some parents worried about the safety and mission of their marines, company First Sgt. Steve Rice said all were volunteers, chosen from many more who wanted to go to Iraq. "Everybody is chomping at the bit to get over there," said Rice.

The unit's mission is to direct fire, calling in mortar, artillery and air strikes on enemy targets. None of the Reserve unit's marines or sailors havebeen killed in Iraq, said Rice, but four have been wounded in prior tours of duty.