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For you,
The Peace Maker
because you care about peace and justice in our world
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Vol. 2, Issue 15 December
27, 2009
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- KRUGMAN
TO PROGRESSIVES ON HEALTH CARE REFORM: Nobel Peace-Prize economist Paul
Krugman in the NY Times tells progressives that it's okay to be angry about the health care legislation
coming out of Congress. "But, meanwhile, pass the health care bill." The bill would end insurance company
discrimination based on medical history or condition, or cancellation for getting sick; and would provide substantial
aid to individuals and to small employers who can't afford insurance. "And all of this would be paid for with the first
serious effort ever to rein in rising health care costs." He notes
"the lessons of history: social insurance programs tend to start out highly imperfect and incomplete, but get better
and more comprehensive as the years go by." By contrast, "the story of health reform suggests that rejecting
an imperfect deal in the hope of eventually getting something better is a recipe for getting nothing at all. "
The Long Island Coalition for a National Health Plan, which had long urged a single-payer
system, sees it the same way. They support "this stinker" of a legislative effort and call attention to "the
legalizing of the idea that everyone should be covered," noting that "we will be able to use the premise of universality
as a weapon to fight for a truly universal and affordable national health program." You can contact LICNHP:
KaneKohn@gmail.com. LIAPA CONTINUES
ANTI-WAR PRESSURE ON ELECTED OFFICIALS The Long Island Alliance for
Peaceful Alternatives will continue its pressure on elected officials with a monthly Stop-By early next week --
visits to the local offices of the 5 LI Congresspeople and the 2 U.S. Senators to protest the military action in Afghanistan.
As on previous visits, the names of the U.S. troops killed in the previous month will be solemnly
recited. Peace-minded people can join these delegations, or else
reinforce their message with phone calls to the elected offices. For information, contact LIAPA at 516-741-4360
or longislandpeace@gmail.com In a speech early in his term, President Obama said, "I'm a big
believer in persistence." Persistence? Ha! He ain't seen nothin' yet! "Persistence" is peace
people's middle name! CONG. OBEY URGES 'SHARE THE SACRIFICE'
TAX FOR WAR Congressman David Obey, House Appropriations Committee chair,
notes that health care reform is attacked because of its cost of a trillion dollars
over 10 years. The military surge in Afghanistan would also cost a trillion dollars over 10 years. But no one talks about
how to pay for it.
"The only people who've paid any price
for our military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan are our military families." His Share the
Sacrifice Act of 2010 would set a surtax to fully pay for the previous year's war costs.
Military costs are draining away money needed for important domestic programs. "If we don't address
the cost of this war, we will continue shoving billions of dollars in taxes off on future generations and will devour money
that could be used to rebuild our economy by fixing our broken health care system, expanding educational opportunities and
job training possibilities, attacking our long term energy problems and building stronger communities. We cannot allow the
war to derail that potential." It might also make more Americans
realize that U.S. wars hurt everyone. PAX CHRISTI USA
JOINS "NO ESCALATION IN AFGHANISTAN" Pax Christi USA joined other peace
groups to influence decisions regarding Afghanistan. Go to www.noescalation.org PCUSA also urges you to check out the Nov. 20 Bill Moyers show featuring
Lyndon Johnson's agonizing phone calls as he tried to, but could not, find an alternative to escalating the war in
Vietnam. Go to www.pbs.org/moyers SUFFOLK PEACE NETWORK SUGGESTS
''NO WAR TOYS ZONES'' During the Christmas shopping season, the Suffolk Peace
Network handed out flyers at toy stores and shopping malls to urge shoppers not to buy children war toys and violent
video games. Now, continuing that emphasis post-Christmas, they urge peace-minded people to set up "No War Toys Zones"
in homes, places of worship and schools. They suggest for ideas, go to www.Truceteachers.org PUT THIS ON YOUR CALENDAR Pax
Christi Long Island. Sunday, noon. January 3. Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Parish Hall, Wyandanch. Discussion
of World March. The Struggle for Free Speech at CCNY, 1931-42.
Friday, January 8, 8PM, at Hewlett-Woodmere Library. Talk by Carol Smith. See exhibit online at www.virtualny.cuny.edu For information: Five Towns Forum: 516-623-5689. A Happy, Peace-filled New Year to all !
Nancy
Dwyer **********************************************************************************************************
For you,
The Peace
Maker
because you care about peace and justice in our world
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Vol. 2, Issue 13 November
1, 2009
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOVEMBER 30 - WORLD PEACE MARCH RALLY
IN NEW YORK CITY The World March for Peace and Nonviolence stepped out, as
planned, from New Zealand on October 2, Gandhi's birthday, on a 93-day, 96-country march to call the world's attention to
the need for nuclear disarmament, withdrawal of troops from occupying countries, and non-aggression between countries. The
plan is to end on January 2 in Argentina. Follow the march on the Internet: www.worldmarchusa.net The World Marchers will arrive in New York City on Monday, November
30. You can meet the marchers at 1PM at Borough Hall in Brooklyn, then walk with them across
the Brooklyn Bridge to City Hall where they will hold a 3PM press conference. NOTE: The local committee is also working on plans for transportation to the city. More
specific information will be forthcoming as available. LIAPA NAMES ANNUAL KAIROS AWARDS DINNER HONOREES
The Long Island Alliance for Peaceful Alternatives annual dinner, to be held at Hofstra on Saturday,
December 5, 6PM, will honor the following with the Kairos Award: - Long Island
Veterans for Peace who work to end the Afghan and Iraq wars and to bring the realities of war home, and who advocate
on behalf of returning veterans.
- Habeeb Uddin Ahmed, of the LI Islamic Center, for involvement
in promoting interfaith understanding and tolerance.
- Greg Maney, of Hofstra University, for
his incisive research and leadership on peaceful resolution of conflict.
- Megan OHandley,
of LI Alliance for Peaceful Alternatives, for her tenacious commitment to LIAPA and to peace and social justice.
For information or reservations, contact LIAPA at 516-741-4360; or longislandpeace@gmail.com Buffet dinner: reservations $75; $85 at the door. TELL
YOUR REPRESENTATIVE TO OPPOSE ESCALATING WAR The Long Island Alliance for
Peaceful Alternatives urges visits, letters and phone calls to your Congressperson on November 2, the Day of the Dead;
and on December 7, Pearl Harbor Day. Ask them to co-sponsor HR3699 to block more troops going to Afghanistan and HR
2404 to provide an exit strategy. For more information, go to LIAPA: 516-741-4360; or
longislandpeace@gmail.com TWO SUGGESTIONS FOR TODAY'S POLITICAL STRUGGLES
Anna Quindlen in Newsweek wrote that "if the American people want the president
to be more like the Barack Obama they elected, maybe they should start acting more like the voters who elected him, who
forcibly and undeniably moved the political establishment to where it didn't want to go."
And David McReynolds, former chair of War Resisters International, said in a talk at Hofstra that "it's
a big mistake to think that Obama can do anything for us. He can't. He's under terrible pressure." It's our responsibility,
he said, to organize at the grassroots level to bring pressure for the change we want.
FAMOUS LAST WORDS The last words
in Michael Moore's excellent film Capitalism: A Love Story are from a song by Woodie Guthrie: "If
Jesus Christ was to preach today like he preached in Galilee, they would lay Jesus Christ in his grave."
PUT THIS ON YOUR CALENDAR Vote.
Tues., Nov. 2, Election Day. At a polling place near you. The
New Patriots. Thurs., Nov. 5, 7:30PM. Cinema Arts Centre, Huntington. Film: military veterans tell
of experiences at the School of the Americas.Talk by Rev. Luis Barrios on becoming a prisoner of conscience by
crossing the line at Fort Benning. Also, music by "The Last Internationale". $12. For information contact
marabard@yahoo.com or 516-379-8522. Vigil in Memory of Marcelo Lucero. Saturday,
November 7, 6PM, Railroad Avenue, Patchogue, where he was killed a year ago. Followed by a religious service at 7:30PM,
at the nearby Congregational Church. Participants are asked to wear white in solidarity.
Meditation for Peace. Sun., Nov. 8, 3PM. At Long Island Yoga Center, Babylon. Contact
Patricia Soper, pacem28@aol.com ; 631-422-2088. Implications of the Mortgage Crisis.
Fri., Nov. 13, 7:30PM, Hewlett-Woodmere Library. Talk by Peter Marcuse, Professor Emeritus of Urban Planning at Columbia
University. By Five Towns Forum. Contact 516-623-5689. Nuclear
Disarmament. Thurs., Nov
19, 7:30PM. At Shelter Rock Unitarian Universalist. Lecture by Jonathan Edward Schell, advocate for disarmament and a world
free of nuclear weapons. For information, call LIAPA 516-741-4360. To unsubscribe, click on "Reply", enter Peacemaker Unsubscribe
on the "Subject" line and click "Send."
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