Greg Hartnett

In the debate over Social Security, President Bush’s handlers have already won some victories, at least in the short term.

Bush and Karl Rove, his deputy chief of staff, have succeeded in convincing most of the US population, including more than two-thirds of college students, that there is a serious problem with Social Security, which opens the way for considering the administration’s program of private accounts instead of relying on the public pension system. The public has been frightened, much as it was by the imminent threat of Sadaam Hussein and his weapons of mass destruction. The pressure on politicians is rising as leaders in the US House of Representatives hope to draft Social Security legislation by next month (June 2005).

For perspective, perhaps it should be noted that Social Security is one of the least generous public pension systems among advanced countries, according to a new report by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

The Bush administration wants to “reform” Social Security - meaning dismantle it. A huge government-media propaganda campaign has concocted a “fiscal crisis” that is mostly imaginary. If some problem does arise in the distant future, it could be overcome by trivial measures, such as raising the cap on the regressive payroll tax.

The official story is that the baby boomers are going to impose a greater burden on the system because the number of working people relative to the elderly will decline, which is true. But what happened to the baby boomers when they were zero to twenty? Weren’t working people taking care of them? And it was a much poorer society then.

In the 1960s the demographics caused a problem but hardly a crisis. The bulge was met by a big increase in expenditures in schools and other facilities for children. The problem wasn’t huge when the baby boomers were zero to twenty, so why when they’re seventy to ninety?

The relevant number is what’s called the dependency ratio of working people to population. That ratio reached its lowest point in 1965. It won’t reach that point again until 2080, according to Social Security Administration figures. Projections that far ahead are meaningless.

Furthermore, any fiscal problem that might arise in caring for the elderly boomers has already been paid for, by the payroll tax rise of 1983, designed for this purpose. And by the time the last boomer has died, the society will be far richer, with each worker producing far greater wealth.

In other words, we’re already past that crisis. Anything that comes is just a matter of one or another kind of adjustment.

Meanwhile a very real fiscal crisis is looming: namely medical care. The United States has one of the most inefficient systems in the industrialized world, with per capita costs far higher than other nations and among the worst health outcomes. The system is privatized, one reason why it’s so inefficient, with administrative costs far higher than Medicare or public programs in other countries, among many other severe flaws inherent in privatized health care.

But “reforming” the health-care system is not on the agenda. So we face an apparent paradox: The real and very serious fiscal crisis is no crisis, and the non-crisis requires drastic action to undermine an efficient system that is quite sound.

Rational observers will seek differences between the Social Security and health-care systems that might explain the paradox.

Some of the reasons seem clear. You can’t go after a health system under the control of insurance companies and pharmaceutical corporations. That system is immune, and will remain so even if it is causing tremendous financial problems (quite apart from the human cost), until some other sector of concentrated power, probably manufacturing industry, throws its weight into the fray on this issue - or better, until formal democratic institutions function sufficiantly well for public opinion to become a factor in policy formation.

A further reason is that Social Security is of little value for the rich though it is crucial for survival for working people, the poor, their dependents, and the disabled. And as a government program, it has such low administrative costs that it offers nothing to financial institutions. It benefits only the “underlying population,” not the “substantial citizens,” to borrow Thorstein Veblen’s acid terminology.

The medical system, however, works very well for the people who matter. Health care is effectively rationed by wealth, and enormous profits flow to private power thanks to management practices geared to profit, not health care. The underlying population can be treated with lectures on responsibility.

The US Congress has recently enacted bankruptcy reform that tightens the stranglehold on the underlying population. About half of US bankruptcies result from medical bills.

Opinion and official policy are once again in conflict. As in the past, most Americans favor national health insurance. To cite just one of many illustrations, in a 2003 Washington Post-ABC News poll, 80 percent regarded universal health care as “more important than holding down taxes.”

Quite apart from these considerations, Social Security is based on an extremely dangerous principle: that you should care whether the widow across town has food to eat. The Social Security “reformers” would rather have you concentrate on maximizing your own consumption of goods and subordinating yourself to power. Caring for other people, and taking community responsibility for things like health and retirement - that’s deeply subversive.

- Noam Chomsky, Interventions pp 129-132

So you have finally realized that the country is going to Hell in a hand basket. Corrupt politicians who pander to corporations, legislation that doesn’t reflect your values, tax dollars being spent obscenely. It all seems like too much to think about - it would be so much easier to just sit your ass on the couch and watch CSI. But that’s what they want you to do.

Below I provide a dozen ways for you to get involved. None of the ideas are meant to be partisan in nature. Regardless of which side of the aisle you sit on, you can still get involved. It’s not a difference of opinions that will bring down the empire - it’s apathy. So get off the couch, and get involved.

1. Attend a Rally - There’s nothing to make you feel more involved with a cause than attending a rally. Mingling with people who share your ideas and are working towards a common goal can be truly inspirational.
2. Get Your Coworkers to Vote - This can be as simple as encouraging Sally in cubicle 5b to get out and vote. Or you could post flyers in your break room explaining the virtues of voting to the less socially concious. If you are the boss, give your people some time off to go out and vote. The work will be there when they get back…
3. Create an Online Petition - Gone are the days of going door to door to get people to sign a petition. With the advent of the Internet, getting people involved is a breeze. A few resources: Petition Spot; The Petition Site; and Petition Online.
4. Volunteer for a Campaign - Running for office requires a lot of work, and a lot of people to help. There are plenty of things you can do to help: hand out literature, host a reception, help with mailings, and more. Just find somebody you like and contact them - they’ll tell you how you can best help with their efforts.
5. Alert the Media - Mainstream media is obsessed with sensationalism and fear, at the neglect of stories that should be getting attention. If you know of something that isn’t getting the attention it deserves, say something about it. Let ‘em know, maybe they’ll surprise you. Contact CNN, call FOX at 888-369-4762, contact ABC News, call CBS at 212-975-3247 or send them an email. (Information for NBC and MSNBC was not readily available - their contact page was experiencing problems).
6. Host a House Party - Open your home to host a fundraising party for your candidate. These intimate gatherings can be ideal for sharing information and getting people involved. The casual setting of a home, and the spirit of a party make it less stuffy. For more information check out Meetup. They’ve got info for any city you can think of.
7. Write Letters to Congress - Tell your representatives exactly what you are thinking. For best results, write from the heart, and try a personalized letter, instead of a form letter. Contacting your representative is easy - see Contacting the Congress for a full set of contact details including phone, website, mailing address, fax, and more.
8. Involve Your Family - Getting your family involved with your activities can go a long way to keeping you active. Introducing your kids to the political process and getting them active will help keep you going (as a role model) and will set your kids in an active mindset.
9. Fight the Power - Attend your town hall meetings, and let your local representatives know how you feel. Need a new traffic light to help reduce speeding in your neighborhood? Tired of your public school’s lack of funding? Find out when City Hall has it’s monthly meetings, and attend. The floor opens up for new business, and you can make your opinion known.
10. Freeway Blog - For as little as a couple of bucks, you can reach hundreds of thousands of people. Not only is it your right to do so, but in today’s day and age, it’s almost your obligation. Find out more from the master.
11. Give Money - When all else fails, you can always dig into your pocket and provide financial assistance. There aren’t any organizations that couldn’t use a couple of extra bucks to help with their cause. There are no shortage of places to donate - find a cause that you agree with and send them $50 (or whatever you can afford). It’s easy to do and your donation will go a long way.
12. Speak out Online - There is perhaps no better way to reach so many people on a shoestring budget. With a global audience, participating in the discussion online can cause ripple effects for years to come. Start a blog (zero to little cost) and get writing. Find some popular blogs of writers you disagree with, and present a dissenting point of view. There are always two sides to an argument (at a minimum) so get in there and present your view - it will always be there for others to see, and you could help in forming an opinion. The Technorati Top 100 and the BOTW Blogs Politics category are great places to start looking.

You don’t need to try to tackle each of the above ideas. Pick one or two and start there. Now that you have some ideas, it’s up to you - get involved or stay complacent. The choice is yours.

I have long been a critic of guns. I hate them. They scare the hell out of me, and their widespread acceptance is a disgrace to our nation. The gun control issue may be the first thing that got me politically motivated.

The attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan in 1981 left Press Secretary James Brady nearly dead and permanently disabled. For the next decade Sarah Brady championed gun control legislation, and with much fanfare President Clinton signed the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (The Brady Bill) into law on November 30, 1993. Over the course of those 10 years, I was exposed to a lot of information on gun control and gun violence. As an inquisitive lad, I read what I could find on the topic (pre-Internet). The more I learned, the more I grew disgusted with guns.

Throwing all firearms to the bottom of the sea would be ideal, but a more reasonable goal would be an outlawing of all handguns and automatic weapons. If you want to go out and shoot some deer, quail, turkey, or whatever defenseless animal of your choice with your rifle and call it a sport, then knock your socks off. But there is no need for Joe Citizen to own a handgun or automatic weapon - or some semi-automatic knock off of some military assault rifle. WTF??

I can already hear calls of Second Ammendment garbage. Drop it already. It was written to keep the King out of your living room when his soldiers all had muskets, and maybe you had to worry about a couple dozen of them showing up on your farm. The Founding Fathers never imagined the advanced weaponry that we have today. If the FBI wants to come into your living room, they’re coming in.

Boo hoo - what about home protection?? Get an alarm - or a rottweiler. Or get both, and keep a shotgun in the closet. What the hell are you anticipating that you need that Bushmaster A3?? Hey Rambo, that’s what the National Guard is for. Go get your rocks off there one weekend a month, and keep your big toys on base. Believe it or not, you’re not making your neighborhood any safer with all that firepower.

Fortunately for America, the Brady Campaign didn’t end with the Brady Bill. For over two decades, the Bradys have been combatting gun violence and the country is a safer place for it. The latest November elections are proof positive that their vigilance and determination have paid off. According to their latest report: 95% of all Brady endorsed candidates won their races; 80% of Brady endorsed candidates beat NRA-backed candidates in head-to-head match-ups; and, 18 out of 26 Senate candidates backed by the NRA lost their race.

That’s a good start - now let’s follow it up with some responsible legislation.

On the 10th of December, 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. These rights were proclaimed inherrent to all human beings, regardless of race, religion, socio-economic status, or sex. In today’s world of polarization and nationalism, it would be wise for us to take a moment to remember all of these points.

In an effort to keep this somewhat manageable, I have decided to skip the Preamble, and jump right into listing the articles:

Article 1. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 2. Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

Article 3. Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

Article 4. No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.

Article 5. No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Article 6. Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.

Article 7. All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.

Article 8. Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.

Article 9. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

Article 10. Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.

Article 11. (1) Everyone charged with a penal offense has the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defense. (2) No one shall be held guilty of any penal offense on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offense, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offense was committed.

Article 12. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honor and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Article 13. (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state. (2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.

Article 14. (1) Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution. (2) This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 15. (1) Everyone has the right to a nationality. (2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.

Article 16. (1) Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution. (2) Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses. (3) The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.

Article 17. (1) Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others. (2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.

Article 18. Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

Article 19. Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Article 20. (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association. (2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association.

Article 21. (1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives. (2) Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country. (3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.

Article 22. Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.

Article 23. (1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment. (2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work. (3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection. (4) Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.

Article 24. Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.

Article 25. (1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control. (2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.

Article 26. (1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit. (2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace. (3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

Article 27. (1) Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits. (2) Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.

Article 28. Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.

Article 29. (1) Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible. (2) In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society. (3) These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 30. Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.

There have been quite a few calls to boycott Citgo recently. After the most recent outburst by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, right-wing bloggers and other keepers of the gate have been ranting and raving about how Americans should unite and stop supporting this madman. Apparently, they seem to think that a boycott of Citgo would teach Chavez a lesson. I would oppose such a boycott for the following reasons:

• The boycott wouldn’t hurt Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A (the parent company) at all. They’d still be able to sell all of their gas to plenty of other interested parties - China, Russia, etc… Your local dealer might get screwed, but your boycott won’t hurt El Presidente at all.
• Punishment of the Venezuelan population for the outbursts of their leader doesn’t seem very fair. Our elected officials have insulted more than their share of other leaders. How about applying the same rules to all parties?
• Today’s foe may be tomorrow’s friend. Remember when Citgo bailed helped us out when Katrina hit? Seems a prudent course of action would be to not alienate ourselves from non-Middle Eastern crude oil sources.

Most of the outrage seems to stem from the recent UN debacle. However, this isn’t the first time Chavez has been on the radar. Remember when Pat Robertson called for the assassination of Chavez? A truly deplorable moment in the cross section of church and state. However, in the heat of his cry for state sponsored terrorism, Robertson does have one moment of clarity. One thought that really touches at the heart of the matter:

This is in our sphere of influence, so we can’t let this happen. We have the Monroe Doctrine, we have other doctrines that we have announced.

That’s it in a nutshell, isn’t it? “God damnit, this guy is playing in our section of the world, and if he doesn’t get with the program, then take him out by any means necessary.” His failure to bow to our power is unacceptable to the corporate interests pulling the strings. What kind of example would that set? We couldn’t let Latin America break loose of our shackles.

At present, Chavez poses no threat to the US. There is no chance of Venezuela invading or militarily attacking us. The only attack we face from them is an attack on ideology. Venezuelan’s socialist democracy can’t be permitted the chance to flourish, or our Latin American house of cards may come tubmling down. The propaganda machine will ensure that the public stays ill-informed, or focused on the clowns climbing out of the car in the third ring. All the while, ignoring the elephant in the room.

Have you heard of Camp Democracy? Not likely if you get your news from mainstream media. Why would they want you to know that people are gathering to speak about important issues. The more they can keep you in the dark, the easier it is for them to control the conversation. But I digress.

Camp Democracy is a non-partisan (yeah right) group coming together in Washington DC to promote “peace, democracy, and the restoration of the rule of law.” Various booths are set up between the Mall and Constitution Avenue for interested parties to learn about activism, electoral reform, community building, and more.

While the main topics addressed will cover and end to the war in Iraq, there will be plenty of speakers covering topics ranging from corporate globalization to the ineptitude of the Bush administration. If you are within the DC area, and would like to attend, here is a list of the schedule of events.

If you can’t (or don’t want to) go, but would be interested in donating money, click here. Or you can volunteer for any number of projects. Or you could do nothing, and complain that your country is going to shit. Your call…

Regular readers of this blog, and those who know me personally, know how I feel about torture and human rights, in general. I have written here, and on my linkblog, about Guantanamo and various other atrocities committed throughout the ages. Most in the name of safety, freedom, and/or religion.

I stumbled upon some reading tonight, and it compelled me enough to action. Bloggers Against Torture is a site committed to spreading the word about torture worldwide - “A blogger alliance against torture”. So I figured… I blog. I’m against torture. And I signed up.

I also pledged to sponsor them in the 24 hour Blogathon - July 29. Proceeds going to Amnesty International USA. If you are so inclined, the sponsorship process is very easy, and you don’t even have to part with any of your cash right now.

Thanks to Dave for sending this my way.

While we pat ourselves on our collective backs, celebrating the awesomeness of US military might in what our leaders are calling a major victory in the war on terrorism, we should take a moment to pay homage to all the others that have died during the illegal war in Iraq. But exactly who, and how many of them, should we mourn?

I was talking a couple of days ago with some friends, and we started discussing US soldiers wounded in Iraq. I wasn’t very surprised to learn that neither of them had an accurate idea on the number of casualties. The DoD is reluctant to release fully accurate data, and the media is happy to fall into line, but there are plenty of non-traditional resources out there to get some ideas. Even though it would appear that our leaders “don’t do body counts”, others are keeping track.

According to some of the data I have found, as of today, the grim numbers look something along the following:

US Deaths Confirmed by the DoD - 2480
US Deaths since “Mission Accomplished” - 2343
US Wounded According to the DoD - 17,869
Iraq Coalition Casualties - 4769
Iraqi Civilians Reported Killed - 38,254 to 42,646
Estimated Civilians Killed - more than 100,000
Women and children accounted for almost 20% of all civilian deaths
Cost of the War - $287,012,509,117 (that’s 287 billion)
Estimate Total Cost of War - over $2 trillion

While the above numbers are alarming on their own, they do not reflect the number of deaths that could have been prevented had the funds spent on the war been directed to health programs or feeding the poor. What type of strides could we have made in the advancement towards a cure for cancer or HIV had we dumped almost $300 billion there? How many children could have been fed with that money? How many schools could have been built? How many immunizations distributed? Factor in the implicit deaths that may have been averted, and the numbers grow considerably.

Even though Bill O’Reilly would have us believe that “everybody who is a loyal American should be celebrating, and not doing this other stuff” I would argue that it is at these times that we need to stand up and remind our leaders that we have not forgotten the others that have fallen. It is at times when we are feeling our most self righteous that we must stand back and put things in perspective. Dropping half a ton of explosives on a handful of bad guys doesn’t justify the carnage that we are unleashing on an undeserving people. The tens of thousands of casualties can’t be washed away, or blown to bits, with the obliteration of Zarqawi. A few dead bad guys will not wipe out the sins of the fathers.

How high does the casualty count need to climb before we decide to pull out? Perhaps that is the wrong metric to judge. Perhaps a better question is how much money do Haliburton and Bechtel need to make before we can stop the carnage? Once the US has a couple of new military bases set up, then can we pull out? Will another notch in the imperialistic belt be enough to satisfy the war lords? How about a Starbucks on every corner?

Bush and friends continue to maintain that we will continue our operations in Iraq. According to our current administration, the end is definitely not in sight. So, how high will the casualty count get? At this rate, the sky is the limit. Maybe 50,000 Americans wounded or killed in combat. Maybe 250,000 or more Iraqis. But hey, we can’t put a price on freedom, right?

And in the midst of our celebrating, let’s not forget the most recent atrocity - the slaughter at Haditha, where two dozen civilians were murdered in cold blood by a Marine unit from Camp Pendleton. Should we cry more for the 24 civilians that met such a brutal demise, or for the poor boys from the Southern California military base? Those poor boys - most of them barely old enough to legally buy alcohol, their lives forever shattered. Their souls lost in the sands of some godless desert. How will they ever be able to come back into society and not lose their minds? How will you greet them when they return? What will you say? Do you have an apology ready?

Or the wretched townspeople of Haditha, which will now live in the history books alongside My Lai, Wounded Knee, and other sites where massacres have been committed upon an innocent population. Who cries for them? Who will mourn the children who were savagely murdered? In one house, little girls - ages 14, 10, 5, 3, and 1 - all died after being shot to pieces. One girl suffered nine bullet wounds, and others were torn apart by exploding grenades. What type of apology can we give to these people? What type of justice do they desrve? Do they not deserve the same happiness and protection that you and I deserve? Are their lives any less precious than ours?

What type of apology are you prepared to give them? Start thinking, because they’ll deserve one. Each day that passes, we will owe more and more apologies. I fear more than we will ever be able to dole out.

References:

Washington Post - Enemy Body Counts Revived
Daniel Bacher - Bush’s Illegal War
Iraq Body Count
Wikipedia - Casualties of the War Since 2003
Iraq Coalition Casualties
Lancet Study (PDF)
Guardian Unlimited - Body counts
The Globalist -The Cost of War in Iraq: A Checklist
Daniel Bacher -Bush’s Illegal War
ImpeachPAC - Who Really Killed the Civilians of Haditha?
Noam Chomsky - After Pinkville
Wikipedia - List of Massacres

On Mother’s Day, peace activist Cindy Sheehan will join with mothers from all over the world in a gathering outside of the White House for a 24 hour vigil honoring those killed or wounded in the war on Iraq.

Fortunately, most of us have other plans on that day. We’ll spend the day with our wives and/or mothers, and celebrate the time together as a family with our kids, and other loved ones. We’ll laugh and play, with nary a thought of the tens of thousands of families worldwide that will spend this day like many others - mourning the untimely loss of their child.

While I am not trying to guilt you out of enjoying your plans, I am sure that your heart does indeed go out to these poor families. Sometimes, there is an opportunity to do something small that can help. This is one of those times. For as little as $3, you can send a Mother’s Day rose to Washington DC to show the mothers of the fallen soldiers that you stand with them against the war.

It will definitely be the cheapest rose you find for Mother’s Day, and probably more appreciated than the ones you pay $120 for. Take a minute (literally) to get involved. See ActForChange for more details.

That is a copy of the sign I plan on carrying this Saturday. The team at ActForChange have put together a peace demonstration in NYC this weekend, in an effort to remind our leaders that some of us are still opposed to the war. From what I have heard, they are expecting a crowd of approximately 100,000 to march down Broadway, carrying signs of protest.

Hopefully, I will be amongst them. I have reserved my sign in hopes that I don’t have conflicting plans. My wife will be out of town (another trip to CA), and I am afraid that parental obligations may keep me from participating. I can’t ask my kids to miss birthday parties so that daddy can fight the man. Hopefully, schedules will permit - I’d love to take my kids in for their first peace rally.

Whether you buy into the Bush administration doctrine or not, I am sure that you would agree that more than enough blood has been shed, and it is time that we fast-track an end to this debacle. The war in Iraq has cost Americans thousands of lives, and billions of dollars. It has cost Iraqis much more. The time has come.

If I am able to make it, I will follow up with details and pictures. If you’d like more information on the event, and how you could get involved, check out the follwing:

StoptheNRA.com, a project of the Brady Campaign, recently launched their Campaign Against Illegal Guns. In short, it is a multiyear effort to curb the illegal trafficking of guns in America.

The three main goals of the project are:

1. Strengthen law enforcement tools to crack down on corrupt gun dealers.
2. Extend Brady background checks to all gun sales.
3. Stop large-volume gun sales that supply traffickers.

To get involved, there are a few things you can do.

A. Donate a minute or two - simply fill out an quick form, or add your own personal message, and you can send an email to your two U.S. Senators and your U.S. Representative pressuring them to support the Campaign.
B. Donate some scratch - as little as $25 helps to spread the word via advertisements, community forums, and internet advocacy.
C. Spread the word - in the modern era, there are many ways to help spread a message. Telling a friend or two definitely helps provide support for the Campaign.

The Brady Campaign has a track record of measures that help in the reduction of gun violence in the US. They have spearheaded hundreds of initiatives, and their grassroots mentality, and community outreach services really help to change America.

If you care about gun violence, or want to help in a solution to halt the illegal gun trade, please take a moment to read more, and possibly help with the campaign.

If you fancy yourself a Democrat, and would like to express your opinion on the party’s current leadership, head over to Daily Kos. A widely read progressive blog, the Daily Kos often runs compelling pieces, and provocative calls to action. If you’d like to participate, voice your opinions:

Do you approve of the way DNC Chairman Howard Dean is doing his job? Vote here.

Do you approve of the way Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid is doing his job? Vote here.

Do you approve of the way House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is doing her job? Vote here.

A little over a month ago, I posed the opportunity to get three free submissions to the BOTW directory. Though I received accolades from some of my peers, the actual participation was a little underwhelming. In hindsight, I am not too surprised. Calling upon industry peers to get involved in a controversial, political matter may be a tall order.

Afraid of alienating customers, most of the people that contacted me graciously passed. I was disappointed, but I learned a lot from the experience. My next effort will prove much more successful.

One person actually did post a sign, at a local university. He was surprised that the sign lasted for almost 10 days. How many people do you think saw it, and took a moment to ponder it’s meaning? My guess is that for the time spent preparing and hanging the sign, the bang for his buck was pretty good. I hope that he takes something away from the experience - hanging the first sign is the biggest step.

From recent reports at Tales of the Freeway Blogger, the movement is really gaining some momentum. People from all over the country are sending in pictures of spotted signs. Moveon.org is even organizing vigils nationwide. The call for impeachment is beginning to get more mainstream.