From September 16-28 Greater Cincinnatians went wild declaring peace in solidarity with people around the country. We had two weeks of non-stop daily peace activities. A big thanks to all of you who supported events- passing out leaflets, calling Congresspeople, holding signs and banners, planning events, marching, delivering petitions, being part of the tent city and the townhall meeting, fasting, praying for peace , participating in civil disobedience, ect. .It all raises awareness and helps create the conditions & the will-power to end the war in Iraq and bring the troops home. We had an amazing two weeks! We were in the media in some capacity nearly every single day.
read and see coverage and slide show
read the entire article - NEXT STEPS - download pdf
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Declaration of Peace: Civil Disobedience |
A thank you to the inspiring individuals led by conscience who discerned, prepared for, risked arrest, and indeed were arrested Wed Sept 27 in Rep.Chabot's office in order to take a stand and help bring us closer to ending the war in Iraq. As we passed out leaflets in front of the Carew Tower during the sit-in, some people who were feeling opposed to the war but extremely disempowered felt so moved by the witness of those risking arrest, that they decided to call Chabot's office on the spot. His phone kept ringing and ringing all day long as people called in urging him to end the war in Iraq. A big thanks to Sr. Mary Evelyn Jegen, Barbara Wolf, Ellen Dienger, John Rich, Greg Flannery, Shannon Isaacs, and Ari Staiger for their inspiring witness! Note: The five adults will be putting the war on trial on Jan 22!
STATEMENT FROM THOSE RISKING ARREST We the people of the United States of America have committed a great and terrible crime. We have attacked a sovereign nation. We have killed over 100,000 civilians including women and children. We have caused religious hatred to flourish. We have spawned civil war. Claiming to spread democracy and protect the peace, we have instead perpetrated violence and misery. A small group of Americans have come today to see Congressman Steve Chabot and ask him to sign the Congressional Declaration of Peace, which calls for a prompt timetable for withdrawal of troops and closure of bases; a peace process for security, reconstruction, and reconciliation; and the shift of funding for war to meet human needs. We believe the war in Iraq was wrong from the start, and its continuation worsens the crime we have committed. Every citizen has a responsibility to try to prevent wrongdoing by the state. So great is our responsibility to end this war that we believe we must try new ways of communicating with those in power. Our phone calls, letters, petitions and marches have so far failed to sway Congressman Chabot. We are here today in yet another effort to enlist his help in ending the war. We will not voluntarily leave until Congressman Chabot signs the Congressional Declaration of Peace.
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Death Penalty |
An Unexamined Justice System Serves No One...
Since the death penalty was resumed in the state of Ohio and Wilford Berry was the first state-sanctioned killing in 1999, there have been 24 executions in eight years. During this time, the death penalty on both a state and national level has been implemented with disregard for mental illness, with the taint of racial bias, with the reality of wrongful convictions (5 innocent men have been exonerated from Ohio’s death row), and the list of inequities continues... Due to the problems within the system as a whole, the National American Bar Association supports a Moratorium on the death penalty and is conducting assessments of targeted states. The Assessment of Ohio will hopefully be released in the spring of 2007. Furthermore, the upcoming Attorney General, Marc Dann, has expressed concern over the current state of the system. In an article that appeared in the Columbus Dispatch on November 19, reporter Alan Johnson stated, “Both Ted Strickland and Marc Dann question the fairness of not the law but how its been applied,” and that Dann “advocates a full-blown death penalty study.”
Death Notice
Jeffrey Lundgren, 56, was executed at 10:26am at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility. He was convicted of killing Dennis Avery, 49; his wife, Cheryl, 46; and their daughters, Trina, 15, Rebecca, 13, and 7-year-old Karen was executed on Tuesday, October 24, 2006 at 10am. After receiving a stay of execution and inclusion into the lethal injection lawsuit one week prior to the scheduled date, Lundgren’s stay was lifted at the 11th hour by a threepanel judge in the sixth circuit court. In his final statement, Lundgren said, “I profess my love for God, my family, for my children, for Kathy (his wife). I am because you are.”
read the entire article and sign petitions - download pdf
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Help Restore 1.5% Funding for Human Services & Social Services! |
CALL TO ACTION - Help Restore 1.5% Funding for Human Services & Social Services!
Human Services funding is on the chopping block for the 2007 City Budget .We need your help! The city manager proposes reducing funding to $1 million, the Mayor’s budget restores funding to 2006 levels of $2.4 million. We are calling for a return to the full 1.5% level of funding for human services as had been a longtime practice in Cincinnati government. This funding is deeply cared about by thousands of people who directly benefit from social services funding. Call City Council, and ask them to restore funding to the full 1.5% level. For more information on the campaign to restore 1.5% funding, contact Vicki Brooks at 513-421-2437
easy access to council numbersand talking points- download pdf
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Reasons to Celebrate: Stories you may have missed in 2006...
ECO VICTORIES - CALIFORNIA REGULATORS APPROVE LANDMARK SOLAR-POWER PLAN In Jan of 2006, California's energy regulators approved about $3 billion in subsidies to promote solar power. Rebates will be paid to residential and business utility customers to encourage installation of enough rooftop solar-power systems by 2017 to generate 3,000 megawatts of electricity -- enough to power about 2.2 million homes, and the equivalent of six new power plants. source: The Mercury News, 13 Jan 2006
ECONOMIC JUSTICE VICTORIES - (MINIMUM WAGE ON THE RISE - Minimum wage hikes won in every state they were on the ballot, winning by a resounding 76 percent in Missouri, 73 percent in Montana, 69 percent in Nevada, 66 percent in Arizona, 56 percent in Ohio and 53 percent in Colorado. The Democratic Congress say they will raise the federal minimum wage within the first 100 hours of the new session. www.letjusticeroll.org
HUMAN RIGHTS / PEACE VICTORIES - IMMIGRANT MARCHES AND DEMONSTRATIONS CHANGE THE COURSE OF DRACONIAN POLICY LATIN AMERICA BREAKS TIES WITH MILITARY PAST Argentina and Uruguay also joined Venezuela in deciding to end the practice of sending troops to train at the U.S.run School of the Americas, now renamed the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC), where many members of the military in the repressive dictatorships of the 1970s received training. In Uruguay, the Defense Ministry is sponsoring a large conference with the title of "What Kind of National Defense Do We Want?". www.soaw.org
read the entire article, this is just three of TWO PAGES - download pdf
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IJPC Peace Committee Strategic Planning Day |
Facilitator: Matt Guynn, of Training for Change and On Earth Peace Sat Feb. 17, 9:30am — 3pm Peaslee Neighborhood Center (215 East 14th St). Breakfast and lunch will be included. Have you been involved in the past? Are you currently active? Might you want to get involved in the future? All folks are welcome to join us in the session as we seek to become more effective and strategic in our antiwar organizing and peace work. Contact Kristen at 513-579-8547 for more info!
read more - download pdf
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