I found the video below of the Freeway Blogger, who I had the privilege of meeting when Tom and I went to Camp Casey in August, 2006. We attended his workshop at Camp Casey and learned of a great and easy way to get peace messages out.

More videos on the Freeway Blogger can be seen at You Tube.

MLK: Beyond Vietnam--A Time to Break Silence

A year to the day before his assassination, King gave this speech at the Riverside Church in New York

Friday April 4th, 2008

Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, I need not pause to say how very delighted I am to be here tonight, and how very delighted I am to see you expressing your concern about the issues that will be discussed tonight by turning out in such large numbers. I also want to say that I consider it a great honor to share this program with Dr. Bennett, Dr. Commager, and Rabbi Heschel, some of the distinguished leaders and personalities of our nation. And of course it’s always good to come back to Riverside Church. Over the last eight years, I have had the privilege of preaching here almost every year in that period, and it is always a rich and rewarding experience to come to this great church and this great pulpit. I come to this magnificent house of worship tonight because my conscience leaves me no other choice. I join you in this meeting because I am in deepest agreement with the aims and work of the organization which has brought us together: Clergy and Laymen Concerned about Vietnam. The recent statements of your executive committee are the sentiments of my own heart, and I found myself in full accord when I read its opening lines: "A time comes when silence is betrayal." And that time has come for us in relation to Vietnam.

The truth of these words is beyond doubt, but the mission to which they call us is a most difficult one. Even when pressed by the demands of inner truth, men do not easily assume the task of opposing their government's policy, especially in time of war. Nor does the human spirit move without great difficulty against all the apathy of conformist thought within one's own bosom and in the surrounding world. Moreover, when the issues at hand seem as perplexed as they often do in the case of this dreadful conflict, we are always on the verge of being mesmerized by uncertainty; but we must move on.

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Pom Poms Not Bomb Bombs, Utah’s Radical Cheerleaders, have a photo included in Mike Palacek’s book THE ANTHOLOGY OF PEACE AND ACTIVISM (p. 94).  The Photo is from the September 24, 2005 Anti-War Rally in Salt Lake City.  I am the 2nd cheerleader from the left, after Radical Jenni, followed by Radica Shea, Radical Raphael and Radical Michelle.

Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan


Winter Soldier will feature testimony from U.S. veterans who served in those occupations, giving an accurate account of what is really happening day in and day out, on the ground. The four-day event, March 13-16, will bring together veterans from across the country to testify about their experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan -- and present video and photographic evidence. In addition, there will be panels of scholars, veterans, journalists, and other specialists to give context to the testimony. These panels will cover everything from the history of the GI resistance movement to the fight for veterans' health benefits and support.

How to Access Winter Soldier Broadcasts

TV BROADCAST -- LIVE COVERAGE

 

RADIO BROADCAST -- LIVE COVERAGE

LIVE WEB STREAMING

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....but the beginning of more good things to come, I'm sure. 

Various items in the news about Rocky Anderson's last day(s):

A collection of comments from Salt Lake City's 33rd mayor

"I started out like a lot of people thinking that Merrill Cook was a nice, sort of bumbling guy (who) wanted to be elected to public office. By the end, I learned that he is truly as unscrupulous a person as I've ever known in my life." — November 1996, a few weeks after losing to Cook in the 2nd Congressional District race.

Rocky Anderson's Last Words As Salt Lake's Mayor

Written by: Doug G. Ware
Email: dware@kutv2.com

SALT LAKE CITY - It's difficult to write a brief summation about Rocky Anderson's eight years as as Salt Lake City's mayor -- a time that was marked by brash flamboyance, an international sports gala and bold battles with President George W. Bush about the war in Iraq.

Sunday was Anderson's last full day as the city's chief.  Monday, he will hand over the keys to his office to fellow Democrat Ralph Becker.

So, how's the view on the way out?  In an interview broadcast on 2News Sunday night, Anderson discussed it all with KUTV anchor Mark Koelbel.

"I approach this as having done my very best, worked really hard, worked with an incredible group of people," he said.  "To tell you the truth... it's probably been tougher than I ever thought it would be."

Quotable: What is Rocky's legacy?

I think Mayor Anderson will be remembered as someone who brought Salt Lake City into a new era. He'll be known for his advocacy for social justice, for environmental issues and climate change, and for reaching out across the country in a way that I think changed the perception of Salt Lake City. I also think he has changed politics, not just for Salt Lake City but in Utah. He's shown that you can be a fierce advocate for principles that may not be mainstream by Utah standards, but that people respect, and be successful." — Ralph Becker, Salt Lake City mayor-elect.

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Rocky Anderson by the numbers

0 — Cost for "green" cars to park at any city meter; cost of parking during the holiday season.

1st — Homeless overflow shelter facilitated by an Olympic host city.

2nd — Congressional district seat he ran for in 1996 as the Democratic nominee, losing to Republican Merrill Cook.

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Last year the Desert Greens held it first Buy Nothing Day Winter Coat Exchange. It was fun and proved to be very meaningful.

This year we held it in a different location.
The 2007 Second Annual Winter Coat Exchange was successful and larger than 2006!
We had about 400 coats donated (up from 100 last year), as well as hats, gloves, and scarves! I was so successful this year that we are considering expanding to two locations for next year.

2007 Event Videos and Photos
Scott Fife Provides Live Entertainment





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....the shopping season.

YIKES!!!

Tomorrow will be the 2nd annual Buy Nothing Day Coat Exchange at Library Plaza in downtown Salt Lake. Black Friday is what the day after Thanksgiving is called. I am putting out the call to all readers and their families and friends to consider doing something different on this day. Something more community oriented and not so consumer-oriented. Check out the Buy Nothing Day Coat Exchange Page.

Be sure to check out my Gift Giving Page, which I will be updating throughout this season.

I had the great fortune of seeing Cynthia McKinney speak at the Annual National Meeting of the Green Party of the United States this past summer and then meeting her at the SOA Watch event last weekend.  She will be working with me and others here in Utah towards a visit in the spring of 2008.  Below are videos and photos of her appearance at the SOA Watch event last weekend.
Cynthia's websites:
All Things Cynthia McKinney
McKinney for President 2008
Cynthia McKinney, who is seeking the Green Party of the United States Presidential Nomination, attended the School of the Americas Watch Event on Sunday, November 18, 2007. She was a featured speaker on the stage. She was also among those who led the funeral procession after the funeral service.

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Gray Newman, Green from North Carolina, and Cynthia McKinney

Cynthia McKinney shares the stage with Dennis Kucinich. Genaro Jacinto Calel from the International Mayan League offers a Mayan Blessing, honoring "our grandfather the sun, our mother the earth, and the life-giving universe."



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Cynthia McKinney, Rabbi Michael Lerner (founder of Tikkun), Father Roy Bourgeois (founder of SOA Watch( and Dennis Kucinich lead the funeral procession at the gate of Ft. Benning which houses the School of the Americas/WHINSEC

There is so much to tell it's hard to know where to start. The good news is that five Latin American countries are now officially School of the Americas "dropouts" (they will not be sending any more of their military to the SOA for training). The bad news: It's still open and operating. But it's getting closer and closer to closing down. Only about 6 more U.S. representatives are needed to vote to close it.

My experience is best told through photos and videos. I have posted videos at
Green Party Peace Network.
You can also view my videos at Youtube - search for "deesdotes".

Photos Tom and I took can be viewed at the SOAW page of the Green Party Peace Network.

Here are a few things for "taste" of what I experienced:
Father Roy Bourgeois, Founder of the SOA Watch


Funeral Procession

From RENSE

In memorium. Lest we forget. The First Thanksgiving

From the Community Endeavor News, November, 1995, as reprinted in Healing Global Wounds, Fall, 1996

The first official Thanksgiving wasn't a festive gathering of Indians and Pilgrims, but rather a celebration of the massacre of 700 Pequot men, women and children, an anthropologist says. Due to age and illness his voice cracks as he talks about the holiday, but William B. Newell, 84, talks with force as he discusses Thanksgiving. Newell, a Penobscot, has degrees from two universities, and was the former chairman of the anthropology department at the University of Connecticut.

"Thanksgiving Day was first officially proclaimed by the Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1637 to commemorate the massacre of 700 men, women and children who were celebrating their annual green corn dance-Thanksgiving Day to them-in their own house," Newell said.

"Gathered in this place of meeting they were attacked by mercenaries and Dutch and English. The Indians were ordered from the building and as they came forth they were shot down. The rest were burned alive in the building," he said.

Newell based his research on studies of Holland Documents and the 13 volume Colonial Documentary History, both thick sets of letters and reports from colonial officials to their superiors and the king in England, and the private papers of Sir William Johnson, British Indian agent for the New York colony for 30 years in the mid-1600s.

"My research is authentic because it is documentary," Newell said. "You can't get anything more accurate than that because it is first hand. It is not hearsay."

Newell said the next 100 Thanksgivings commemorated the killing of the Indians at what is now Groton, Ct. [home of a nuclear submarine base] rather than a celebration with them. He said the image of Indians and Pilgrims sitting around a large table to celebrate Thanksgiving Day was "fictitious" although Indians did share food with the first settlers.

'Why I Hate Thanksgiving'
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Other articles
The Ultimate Betrayal - Howard Zinn
Inventing Thanksgiving - Brian Awehali
Howard Zinn Interview -
Howard Zinn discusses his book, A People’s History of the United States.

Salt Lake County decided to consolidate polling places and as a result there were long lines.  I went to vote after work and arrived at my polling place at around 6:30pm.  I waiting in a long line outside for about 1/2 hour and another 1/2 hour inside (including voting time).  Not only that, there was only one table with one person checking off names with one assistant.

What's up with that?

I will elaborate in my actual vote expereience at a later time.  There's some news coming down the pike about vote machines in which I will be involved.