"Peace activists have learned that big demos in Washington, DC, alone will not save us.  Sure, let's go there, or other big cities to show the peace doves, and Old Glory too, once in a while.  But the real engines in this campaign to save ourselves from oblivion are the small but determined protests mounted everywhere across this land. Building a huge and independent movement of enraged and engaged citizens is the way to not only move democracy out of its infancy, but to force the next administration, whether Democratic or Republican, to stop the insane, tragic, cowardly invading of other nations."-- WWII Veteran, author and anti-war activist, Martin Murie.

May 16 is the Third Friday of the month -- Iraq Moratorium #9.

Quoting Murie, some Wisconsin organizers tell us why it's important:

Dear Concerned Citizens,

The U.S. Army has developed architectural drawings for a "Tigris Woods Golf and Country Club Resort" for a planned "zone of influence" in Baghdad, and the Boston Herald is reporting that the plans have the support of the Pentagon.

There are also plans for an amusement park.

There are many appaling questions that deserve answers about this given the lack of electricity, running water, civil war atmosphere, much less who will maintain security for people standing in line to ride a rollercoaster in a war zone.

"Contractors hired to rebuild the country’s infrastructure or provide security have overcharged the U.S. for everything from soft drinks—$45 a can—to gasoline. Millions of dollars in no-bid reconstruction contracts were diverted to things such as Super Bowl tickets, prostitutes, watches, and jewelry. And much of the reconstruction work has been substandard. The U.S., for example, paid $72 million to Parsons, a U.S. contractor, to build a police academy in Baghdad. But the building was so badly put together that raw sewage seeps from its walls and ceilings. “This became the lens through which Iraqis now see America—incompetence, profiteering, arrogance,” said House Democrat Henry Waxman of California, a vocal critic of the war."

There's more at The Week Magazine. 

Bottoms up!

It looks like Hillary Rodham Clinton agrees with McCain when it comes to visualizing 50+ years in Iraq ... as long as they can keep the public satisfied with low U.S. soldier death counts.

Said HRC:

"Senator McCain made the point earlier today, which I agree with, and that is, it's not so much a question of time when it comes to American military presence for the average American; I include myself in this. But it is a question of casualties," said Clinton. "We don't want to see our young men and women dying and suffering these grievous injuries that so many of them have. We've been in South Korea for 50-plus years. We've been in Europe for 50-plus. We're still in Okinawa with respect to protection there coming out of World War II."

Can someone in the MSM ask her if she still agrees with this b.s? Iraq is NOT Europe, m'kay?

- 2005 CBS "Face the Nation" interview  (see attachment with transcript below)

You're paying taxes that support this war, whether you like it or not.

Vice President Dick Cheney's defense company KBR, with $16 billion in no-bid contracts - 8x the work of its nearest competitor - doesn't.

From the Boston Globe:

"Over the course of the five-year war, their tax bill would have been more than $500 million."

Here's how they do it.

Get UPPITY! Let your Wisconsin Senators know what you think about this.

Shoddy work by Vice President Cheney's (former?) private defense companies in Iraq and Afghanistan is resulting in U.S. soldier deaths by electrocution.

Halliburton and KBR whistleblowers and U.S. military personnel brought the problems to light as early as 2004.

And they were mocked for their concerns and lied to.

Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth - a highly-skilled Green Beret - was electrocuted in the shower in a Baghdad military compound three months ago, and the Army told his mom that he died because he brought an electrical appliance into the shower with him ... like the woman just fell off an applecart or something.

These are the same people who wanted us to believe a public relations fairy tale about Pat Tilman and Jessica Lynch.

I may never stop puking.

In protest of the Iraq war, thousands of California dock workers skipped work today and effectively shut down 29 ports, including the second busiest U.S. port in Long Beach. As noted in the LA Times:

"We are supporting the troops and telling politicians in Washington that it's time to end the war in Iraq," union president Bob McEllrath said.

Wisconsin ports handle an estimated cargo worth $7 billion per year. Could a strike happen here?

You can contact the President of the Wisconsin Commercial Ports Association and let him know if you'd support similar action in our state:

President, Wisconsin Commercial Ports
Dean Haen, Port Manager
Port of Green Bay
haen_dr [at] co [dot] brown [dot] wi [dot] us
2561 S. Broadway
Green Bay, WI  54304
(920) 492-4950

From MoveOn.org on the 5th anniversary of Mission Accomplished