Peace Council Pages

Educate, Agitate, Organize
SPC IN ACTION
compiled by Carol Baum

Bush Must Go! Campaign in High Gear
We’re getting down to the wire. If you want to take action to send Mr. Bush packing, now’s the time.

Bush Must Go! Rally – Oct. 17
From 2 to 4 pm, Sunday, October 17, just two weeks before the 2004 presidential elections, SPC will rally in downtown Syracuse. Join hundreds of others to celebrate our work to oust Bush and get energized to continue working for democracy and justice through the elections and beyond. The rally will feature speakers and performers. Check the SPC website for updates. Contact Jessica.

Bye Bye Big Brother – October
This next phase of our Bush Must Go! campaign focuses on the Bush Admin-istration’s attacks on civil liberties and human rights. As part of our work with the CNY Bill of Rights Defense Campaign, SPC will help organize a non-partisan panel discussion on October 26, the anniversary of the signing of the Patriot Act. Join us at May Memorial (3800 E. Genesee St., Syracuse) at 6:30 (check in, discussion starts at 7) for “Our Civil Liberties At Risk: The USA Patriot Act and American Freedoms.”

The World Says NO to the Bush Agenda!
On August 29, 100 of us traveled to NYC on two SPC-sponsored busses. We joined 500,000 others for a massive march through the streets of NYC on the eve of the Republican National Convention (RNC). Despite determined efforts by organizers, the city refused to grant a permit for a Central Park rally.

The city continued violating protesters’ rights throughout the four days of demonstrations. SPC activist Ed Kinane and hundreds of others were arrested in a peaceful procession originating at Ground Zero. Ed was held 35 hours with no phone access during the first 24 hours and no access to a lawyer or a judge the entire time. A total of nearly 2000 were arrested, many illegally and preemptively, during the RNC. These were the largest protests ever held at a political convention.

Protect the Earth
To protect the earth, Bush Must Go! There is a clear distinction between him and his opponents on environmental issues. Bush is the first President to receive an “F” from the League of Conservation Voters. With Bush’s war on Iraq, empire-building, attacks on civil liberties, his failure to address human needs, and more, his attacks on the environment seem to escape notice except from environmentalists. We seek to change that.

· Plants and Animals Against Bush. Plants and animals spoke up for themselves at the State Fair, Westcott Street Cultural Fair, and at our Weekly Peace Outreach. We used humor to convey our serious message (see photo; on page 4 or visit the SPC website).

· Brochure. We’ve been distributing brochures, and have many more to go. Sign up to join a “distribution party” or pick up a stack to distribute on your own. The artwork is beautiful, the message highly readable, but intense – see last month’s PNL centerfold for a sample.

· “More Trees, Less Bush” educational program. Thanks to panelists Ollie Clubb, Ruth Florey, Tim Judson, Martha Loew and Annette Pfannenstiel for their insights on the Bush Administration’s environmental policies and their local impacts.

Bush Must Go! Lawn Signs
The Bush Must Go! lawn signs continue to create quite a stir.

 
· SPC has distributed over 1500 lawn signs. The signs are drawing many people to the SPC office for the first time.
· Having a sign is not without its challenges.
Many people have had signs stolen one, two and three times. Also, some towns and cities have tried to enforce restrictions on how long before the elections political signs may be displayed. Most of these restrictions are unconstitutional. If you have experienced pressure from your municipality about this, contact our local ACLU chapter at 471-2821. The ACLU has already sent letters to the authorities in Cortland and Marcellus.
· Distributing signs can be challenging too. Activists from Cayuga Coalition for Peace (CCP) recently brought Bush Must Go! and other signs to the Tomato Fest in Auburn. There was controversy with their having such “negative” signs. Each day of the

The SPC office is now hard to miss. Thanks to Howard Rose for creating our new banner and Brian Post for installing it. Photo: Carol Baum

2-day event, Tomato Fest organizers threatened to call their lawyer. Neither lawyer nor police ever appeared. Many Tomato Fest volunteers and festival goers expressed their support of CCP’s right to be there and were glad to see them.

Swing State Work – Seeking Outside Agitators
SPC encourages people to help turn the tide in neighboring Pennsylvania. The CNY Labor Federation will send groups to northern Pennsylvania for voter education work on Saturdays, October 16 and 30, leaving Syracuse at 6 am and back by 6 pm. Contact Mark Spadafore, 422-3363 x11, mark@cnylabor.org.

The Finger Lakes Election Committee,
www.fingerlakeselection.org, is sending volunteers from Ithaca to Pennsylvania to register and educate citizens (including some weeknights). Contact Bo Lipari, bolipari@fingerlakes election.org.

Special Election PNL – Oct. 21
The Peace Newsletter’s special election issue arguing that Bush Must Go! will be ready earlier than usual – October 21. We’ll take them door to door beginning that evening. See box on page 3. Contact Andy.

Plowshares Applications Due Oct. 5
We are excited about the move to Nottingham High School for this year’s Plowshares Craftsfair and Winter Peace Festival on December 4-5. Mark your calendars. Applications for crafters and community group tables are due by October 5. They are available at the office or can be downloaded from <www.peacecouncil.net/plowshares>.

Welcome Fall Interns
With the election fast upon us, we’re grateful to have interns and other students volunteering. Antioch

Weekly Peace Outreach Please join us every Tuesday 4:45-5:30 pm This month we say “Bye, Bye Big Brother” to the squatter in the White House. ¨ October 5 Teall Ave. and Rt. 690 ¨ October 12 Adams St. and Rt. 81 ¨ October 19 Thompson Rd. and James St. ¨ October 26 E. Genesee St. and Erie

student Amy Campbell will be with us through mid-December. She spent her third day with SPC in NYC protesting the Republican National Convention, and has been busy with us ever since. Amy plans to be a librarian, so comes with an appreciation for the vast amounts of information and materials SPC has. Many thanks to Julienne and John Oldfield for hosting Amy.

Justin Kopa, a Jesuit novice, brings great energy and enthusiasm to the office. He works at SPC two days a week; he plans to provide conflict resolution resources to elementary schools, and create a power point presentation about SPC.

Students from Le Moyne, Onondaga Community College and Nottingham High School will also be working with us through classes this fall. If you are a student, consider working with us as a class project..

SPC Study Group Starts Up

SPC’s Monthly Program Join us for door-to-door distribution of the special election issue of the PNL – which will be hot off the press. Thursday, October21 just two weeks before the election Meet at SPC Office 5-5:30 pm Go out with another person for 1-1 ½ hours; come back for pizza at SPC. Note: This program is at the SPC office, not the Westcott Community Center.

Sixteen people attended the first meeting of SPC’s study group on the US global agenda. We’re reading a short book first, Arundhati Roy’s An Ordinary Person’s Guide to Empire; several other books are under consideration.

We’re open to everyone, no experience necessary — just a desire to learn, willingness to discuss ideas respectfully, and general support of the SPC Statement of Purpose (see page 2). We meet the second and fourth Mondays of the month from 7-8:30 pm at the Friends Meeting House (821 Euclid Ave., Syracuse). New members are always welcome. Please try to do the reading first. Contact Carol.

SPC Gets the Word Out
In September, SPC tabled and/or leafleted at several events, including the Autumn Equinox Festival, the Westcott Street Cultural Fair, Michael Moore’s talk at the Dome, and Le Moyne College’s Opportunities Fair. Thanks to all the volunteers who helped staff our tables, hand out leaflets and transport materials!