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Standing for peace since January 1, 2003

Still standing for peace on March 19, 2008, the fifth anniversary of the U. S. invasion of Iraq

and on March 26, 2008, marking the death of the 4000th U. S. military service member in Iraq.

Quote of the Week

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, April 4, 1967

We are called to speak for the weak, for the voiceless, for the victims of our nation and for those it calls "enemy," for no document from human hands can make these humans any less our brothers.

New Events

See the CANOPAS Events page for information about upcoming peace events in the Chelsea area.

Farmer's Market Report

Elizabeth Hammer, June 28, 2008

The day started out raining, and drizzled most of the morning with a major downpour around 10. Park Street was torn up down to the mud, ready for resurfacing, so no one could park and few wanted to drive. Several regular vendors stayed home. Even with the dispiriting surround and the diminished foot traffic, the CANOPAS booth at the Saturday Farmer’s market was successful in attracting both the curious and the supportive.

This is the first time since 2005 that we have had a presence at the market, and we prepared carefully with a theme built around “De-fund the war, Re-fund the country”. We used a real pie, and cut it into segments representing portions of the federal budget. Passersby were invited to “play the budget pie game,” by using small cards with labels of the different budget categories. Most people were able to guess the largest category, “current and past wars” (44.5%), and then most became engaged with trying to guess how the other 56% was divided among the remaining 5 categories. Most were surprised to find “health care,” at 19%, was 2nd largest, and ruefully not surprised to learn that “diplomacy and human needs abroad” was the smallest, at 1.5%. (The data is from the FCNL Wage Peace campaign, www.FCNL.org.) Good conversations ensued, and folks were interested in taking our literature with them.

At the end of the morning, as all vendors were packing to go home at noon, another vendor came over to us to say how glad she was that we were there—how important it was to bring awareness of these issues forward, and to create an informed electorate. So, despite the dreary weather and low turn-out, it was a good day, with the summer rain an apt metaphor as we planted seeds of peace.

Memorial Day and "Service"

Arny Stieber, May 23, 2008

"They died in service to our country". That sentence will be heard may times as the nation observes Memorial Day.

I'm a father, a businessperson and a Viet Nam veteran. Over the past several years I've examined my military experience. Two time Medal of Honor recipient, Marine Major General Smedley Butler helped me. He finished his career, looked back and wrote a booklet titled "War is a Racket". He said he was a thug for big business. My studies confirm what the General said. Behind all of the flag waving, and the shouts of freedom, democracy and service, is a massive empire devoted to profit by any means. Weapons are our number one export product. The military is a tool. We are taught to puff our chests, and honor the military—alive and dead—but we are never taught to question the business of war.

They died in "service" to our country. I hope we think about those words.

Memorial Day Parade Report

John Gourlay, May 26 2008

About 20 Chelsea Area Peace Activists turned out for the Memorial Day Parade and helped to carry the 250-foot-long banner of over 4000 names updated, as always, by Palmer Morel-Samuels. The banner received polite applause all along the parade route, and toward the end of the route a young man, apparently an off-duty marine, joined the line and picked up some slack in the banner. When we reached the cemetery and were rolling the banner up, a number of people stopped to talk about it. Most of the people understood that the banner listed the U. S. war dead in Iraq, and they shook their heads at the large number of names. Incredibly, however, there were several people who imagined that the banner listed all of the U. S. war dead from all wars, and they were dumbfounded to learn that this list was just for Iraq. We need to do a better job of educating people about the cost of this war.

Barbarians

Arny Stieber, February 7, 2008

Barbarians—bizarre, primitive, wild or uncivilized. That word burst into my mind as I watched the State of the Union talk. Here was a President talking to elected representatives about killing people, and they were cheering and clapping and giving standing ovations.

I'm a father, businessperson and a Viet Nam veteran. I woke up to my military experience five years ago. I have learned much since then. My motto is—If you have to hurt someone to solve a problem, you are the problem. Barbarians would disagree.

Gore Book Discussion

Jim Grenoble, October 5, 2007

On Sunday, September 30, I attended the discussion of Al Gore’s book Assault on Reason, held at the Manchester District Library, and hosted by The Manchester Area People for Peace. The discussion was paneled by Pat Swaney of MAPP, Pat Vailliencourt, Manchester Village President, and Daniel Lai, editor of the Manchester Enterprise newspaper.

The event was attended by around 30 people.

Various reading material was spread out on a table in the back of the room, along with a petition to “draft” Al Gore for president.

At first, the panel talked about the book, then, a Q & A took place with the audience. About half of them hadn’t read the book (I had), but everyone pretty much knew the gist of it. It is about the insane hypocracy and corruption of the Bush administration, congress’s inability to stand up to it, and the corporate media’s role of non-investigative reporting and backing.

President Vailliencourt asked why no one would stand up against only two men (Bush & Cheney), and how these two could weld so much power.

Someone in the audience wondered why the antiwar movement was ineffective and not more mobile against the war in Iraq, and thought the movement is in limbo, unlike the resistance to the Vietnam War was in the ‘60s. I responded to this question by referring them to a book by Tom Hayden, seasoned antiwar activist from that era. In his book, Ending the War in Iraq, Hayden reminds us that in the ‘60s, a demonstration of 20,000 protesters was all over the news. A few weeks ago there was a demonstration in Washington, D.C., where over 100,000 protesters took part and the media didn’t cover it. It was not big news to them. In fact, millions of people protest this war and the Bush administration’s policies, not only in this country, but all over the world all the time, but it gets practically no coverage by the media, except in independent news. The Ann Arbor News mentioned this particular event with only two paragraphs on page 5, with two more paragraphs reporting the much smaller group of Bush supporters mounting a counter-protest. This is truly part of the “Assault on Reason”.

Think about all the antiwar organizations such as CodePink, MoveOn, & United for Peace & Justice. There are HUNDREDS more. Not to mention all the periodicals such as The Nation and Mother Jones magazines, and a million bloggers on the internet. Plus, now we have Air America Radio, and DemocracyNow! with Amy Goodman. These things just weren’t available in the ‘60s, and certainly not active in such as speedy pace as it became for this war.

Standing in front on the post office in Chelsea last Sunday, and talking to the good people of CANOPAS, I saw that the people of Chelsea who drove past us are more against this war now than just a few months ago. This is because THE PEACE MOVEMENT IS STILL ALIVE! You are making a difference. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. For the prospect of peace is a slow and arduous process, but eventually reason will catch up to the people, as long as we’re all out there every week in front of the library, as few as we are in Chelsea, reminding them about it for long as this hideous war continues. REASON WILL PREVAIL! Eventually.

Special Access Ended for Military Recruiters at Manchester High School

Eileen Parker, Manchester Area People for Peace, September 19, 2007

Good news! Our campaign to end the special access given to military recruiters at Manchester High School has succeeded!

MAPP approached the School Board in the spring with this request. The school counselor visited each classroom shortly after school started this fall to announce that military recruiters would no longer be allowed to set up in the school lunchroom. They will now have the same access as college recruiters and employers: they will be available to meet with students by appointment in the counseling office and at special career fairs. The school counselor also explained the Opt Out process to students who do not want their name and contact information released to military recruiters.

And, we have a group of students this year who hope to start a Peace Club at MHS. They are currently looking for a teacher to sponsor their club.

Please call the school if you have a chance and thank them for this policy change.