Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Blue Hearts 22/9.12.07
Hello Blue Hearts,
Welcome back to school and to Autumn. I'm loving the recent, cool weather! Hope you are too.
There's so much to cover but first I want to alert you to our next meeting. It's going to be Oct. 1, Monday, at 9 a.m. I'm still working on location but I think we're covered there. I'm so excited. Grant Mallett of Wes Jackson's Land Institute is coming to tell us about the fabulous things they're working on in the field of food and natural resource sustainability. I've heard Grant speak on this topic and it's fascinating and uplifting. I hope you can come. I'll send the details as they becomes available.
Also, make sure to get to the LOCAL section to peruse all the events happening in KC.
Thanks,
Kristin
Onward...
HUMOR
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Saint George and the Truth Dragon
President George W. Bush was scheduled to visit the Episcopal Church outside Washington as part of his campaign to restore his poll standings. Bush's campaign manager made a visit to the Bishop, and said to him, "We've been getting a lot of bad publicity because of the president's position on stem cell research, the Iraq war, Katrina, and the like. We'd gladly make a contribution to the church of $100,000 if during your sermon you'd say the President is a saint."
The Bishop thought it over for a few moments and finally said, "The Church is in desperate need of funds and I will agree to do it." The donation was then made.
Bush showed up for the sermon and the Bishop began: "I'd like to speak to you all this morning about our President. George W. Bush is a corrupt grafter, a power-hungry near dictator, a liar, a cheat, a hypocrite and a low-intelligence weasel. He took the tragedy of September 11 and used it to frighten and manipulate the will of the American people. He lied about weapons of mass destruction and invaded Iraq for oil and money and personal vengence to punish Saddam for attempting to assasinate his father, causing the deaths of tens of thousands and making the United States the most hated country on Earth.
"He appointed cronies to positions of power and influence, which led to widespread death and destruction during Hurricane Katrina. He awarded contracts and tax cuts to his rich friends so that we now have more poverty in this country and a greater gap between rich and poor than we've had since the Depression. He instituted illegal wiretaps without even getting a warrant from a secret court which would have been a mere administrative detail. Then he had his henchmen lie to Congress about it and ultimately claimed with presidential privilege that he is above the law.
"He has headed the most corrupt, bribe-inducing, sexually deviate-filled and morally bankrupt political party since Teapot Dome, when I was young. The 5 trillion dollar national surplus has turned into a staggering national debt of 7.6 trillion dollars, gas prices are up over 100%, and vital research into global warming and stem cells is stopped cold because he's afraid to lose votes from some religious kooks and offend his Saudi Oil petrogang. "He is the worst example of a true Christian I've ever known. But compared to Dick Cheney and Karl Rove, George Bush is a SAINT."
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Obviously, he was replaced by a pod person...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BEsZMvrq-I
Actually, this is not funny. I wish it were. K
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"People are at least as smart as goats. Now one of the ways I keep those goats in the fence is I electrified them. Once they got popped a couple of times, they quit trying to jump it."
Sen. Trent Lott from Mississippi on how to deal with illegal immigration at the border
Again, not funny. K
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Direct quote from the just published REAGAN DIARIES.
The entry is dated May 17, 1986.
'A moment I've been dreading. George brought his ne're-do-well son around this morning and asked me to find the kid a job. Not the political one who lives in Florida. The one who hangs around here all the time looking shiftless. This so-called kid is already almost 40 and has never had a real job. Maybe I'll call Kinsley over at The New Republic and see if they'll
hire him as a contributing editor or something. That looks like easy work.'
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A Montana cowboy was overseeing his herd in a remote mountainous pasture when suddenly a brand-new BMW advanced out of a dust cloud towards him.
The driver, a young man in a Brioni suit, Gucci shoes, Ray Ban Sunglasses and YSL tie, leans out the window and asks the cowboy, "If I tell you exactly how many cows and calves you have in your herd, Will you give me a calf?"
The cowboy looks at the man, obviously a yuppie, then looks at his peacefully grazing herd and calmly answers, "Sure, why not?"
The yuppie parks his car, whips out his Dell notebook computer, Connects it to his Cingular RAZR V3 cell phone, and surfs to a NASA Page on the Internet, where he calls up a GPS satellite navigation System to get an exact fix on his location which he then feeds to another NASA satellite that scans the area in an ultra-high-resolution photo.
The young man then opens the digital photo in Adobe Photoshop and exports it to an image processing facility in Hamburg, Germany.
Within seconds, he receives an email on his Palm Pilot that the image has been processed and the data stored.
He then accesses a MS-SQL database through an ODBC connected Excel Spreadsheet with email on his Blackberry and, after a few minutes, receives a response.
Finally, he prints out a full-color, 150-page report on his hi-tech, miniaturized HP LaserJet printer and finally turns to the cowboy and says, "You have exactly 1,586 cows and calves."
"That's right. Well, I guess you can take one of my calves,"
says the Cowboy.
He watches the young man select one of the animals and looks on amused as the young man stuffs it into the trunk of his car.
Then the cowboy says to the young man, "Hey, if I can tell you exactly what your business is, will you give me back my calf?"
The young man thinks about it for a second and then says, "Okay, why not?"
You're a Republican Congressman for the U.S. Government", says the cowboy.
"Wow! That's correct," says the yuppie, "but how did you guess that?"
"No guessing was required." answered the cowboy. "You showed up here even though nobody called you; you want to get paid for an answer I already knew, to a question I never asked. You tried to show me how much smarter than me you are; and you don't know a thing about cows...this is a herd of sheep.
Now give me back my dog.
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Demographics of American Newspapers
1. The Wall Street Journal is read by the people who run the country.
2. The Washington Post is read by people who think they run the country.
3. The New York Times is read by people who think they should run the country and who are very good at crossword puzzles.
4. USA Today is read by people who think they ought to run the country, but don't really understand The New York Times. They do, however, like their statistics shown in pie charts.
5. The Los Angeles Times is read by people who wouldn't mind running the country -- if they could find the time -- and if they didn't have to leave Southern California to do it.
6. The Boston Globe is read by people whose parents used to run the country and did a far superior job of it, thank you very much.
7. The New York Daily News is read by people who aren't too sure who's running the country and don't really care as long as they can get a seat on the train.
8. The New York Post is read by people who don't care who's running the country as long as they do something really scandalous, preferably while intoxicated.
9. The Miami Herald is read by people who are running another country but need the baseball scores.
10. The San Francisco Chronicle is read by people who aren't sure there is a country . . or that anyone is running it; but if so, they oppose all that they stand for. There are occasional exceptions if the leaders are handicapped minority feminist atheist dwarfs who also happen to be illegal aliens from any other country or galaxy, provided of course, that they are not Republicans.
11. The National Enquirer is read by people trapped in line at the grocery store.
12. The Oregonian is read by people who have recently caught a fish and need something in which to wrap it.
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GENERAL
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Mastectomy Hospital Bill in Congress
A mastectomy is when a woman's breast is removed in order to remove cancerous breast cells/tissue. If you know anyone who has had a mastectomy, you may know that there is a lot of discomfort and pain afterwards.
Insurance companies are trying to make mastectomies an outpatient procedure. Let's give women the chance to recover properly in the hospital for 2 days after surgery.
Please send this to everyone in your address book. If there was ever a time when our voices and choices should be heard, this is one of those times. If you're receiving this, it's because I think you will take the 30 seconds to go to vote on this issue and
send it on to others you know who will do the same.
There's a bill called the Breast Cancer PatientProtection Act which will require insurance companies to cover a minimum 48-hour hospital stay for patients undergoing a mastectomy. It's about eliminating the "drive-through mastectomy" where women are forced to go home just a few hours after surgery, against the wishes of their doctor, still groggy from anesthesia and sometimes with drainage tubes still attached.
Lifetime Television has put this bill on their web page with a petition drive to show your support. Last year over half the House signed on.
PLEASE!! Sign the petition by clicking on the web site below. You need not give more than your name and zip code.
HYPERLINK http://www.lifetimetv.com/health/breast_mastectomy_pledge.html
PLEASE PASS THIS ON to your friends and family and, on behalf of all women,
THANKS.
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From Courtney at It's Only Natural in Kansas City...
Can't buy everything organic? Don't you wish you could?
But hey! Even buying some things organic is a benefit to you, your family and the planet! But how do you know when you really shouldn't even consider conventional items because of high pesticide residue (like soy products and peanut butter) and when you can buy them with relative peace of mind?
To help you out, the nonprofit Environmental Working Group studied 43 fruits and vegetables and ranked them according to contamination. Choose organic versions of the top 12 (listed here) and you'll reduce your exposure by almost 90 percent:
Peaches, Apples, Bell Peppers, Celery, Nectarines, Strawberries, Cherries, Pears, Grapes (imported), Spinach, Lettuce and Potatoes.
Also from Courtney:
Eco-Tip: Bottled Water - Time to Regroup and Refill!
Have there been enough articles to get you to stop buying bottled water?? Between the companies coming clean that a lot of bottled water is actually tap water (up to 40% of it!!), to hearing staggering numbers like 22 billion empty plastic water bottles ended up in the trash last year (even though they can be recycled 8 out of 10 are NOT), to learning that it takes more than 1.5 million barrels of oil to make the bottles themselves, to also learning it takes 6 times the amount of water in the bottle to make the bottle, to the banning of the purchasing of bottled water with city government dollars in San Francisco, to restaurants in Boston, New York and San Francisco taking bottled water off the menu (offering filtered tap water instead) - and the problems don't stop there.
How about that bottled water costs thousands of dollars more than tap water - but even if you don't trust tap water and decide to put a filtration system on your house (about $500, Advanced Water Tech 913-432-0271 is who I used)- a family of four could start saving money in as little as two months!!!
But finally - its time to face the truth. That even if you justified your bottled water habit by consistently recycling the bottles - the recycling doesn't eliminate the plastic. The recycling only gives it ONE more life cycle - in other words the plastic bottle may get turned into carpet, goggles or outdoor furniture - but after that - its time for the landfill. Where it will never really fully biodegrade.
So, grab a glass bottle, a stainless steel bottle (kleankanteen.com), an epoxy-lined aluminum bottle (mysigg.com), if you're gonna do a plastic reuseable bottle make sure its a #2 high density polyethylene (Nalgene makes one - but NOT all of their bottles are the #2) and Refill, Refill, Refill!!! I promise, once you start doing it, it becomes just as easy a habit as stocking up on cases of bottled water!
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Typical Bush White House. K
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The first U.S. surgeon general appointed by President George W. Bush accused the administration on Tuesday of political interference and muzzling him on key issues like embryonic stem cell research.
"Anything that doesn't fit into the political appointees' ideological, theological or political agenda is ignored, marginalized or simply buried," Dr. Richard Carmona, who served as the nation's top doctor from 2002 until 2006, told a House of Representatives committee.
"The problem with this approach is that in public health, as in a democracy, there is nothing worse than ignoring science, or marginalizing the voice of science for reasons driven by changing political winds. The job of surgeon general is to be the doctor of the nation, not the doctor of a political party," Carmona added.
Carmona said Bush administration political appointees censored his speeches and kept him from talking out publicly about certain issues, including the science on embryonic stem cell research, contraceptives and his misgivings about the administration's embrace of "abstinence-only" sex education.
Carmona's comments came two days before a Senate committee is due to hold a hearing on Bush's nomination of Dr. James Holsinger as his successor. The administration allowed Carmona to finish his term as surgeon general last year without a replacement in place.
Gay rights activists and several leading Democrats have criticized Holsinger for what they see as "anti-gay" writings, but the White House has defended him as well qualified.
U.S. surgeons general in the past have issued influential reports on subjects including smoking, AIDS and mental health.
"Political interference with the work of the surgeon general appears to have reached a new level in this administration," said Rep. Henry Waxman, a California Democrat who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to which Carmona testified.
"The public expects that a surgeon general will be immune from political pressure and be allowed to express his or her professional views based on the best available science," he said.
Carmona said he was politically naive when he took the job, but became astounded at the partisanship and manipulation he witnessed as administration political appointees hemmed him in.
Bush in 2001 allowed federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research, but only with heavy restrictions that many scientists condemn as stifling.
Carmona said the administration prevented him from voicing views on stem cell research. Many scientists see it as a promising avenue for curing many diseases. But because it involves destroying human embryos, opponents call it immoral.
Carmona said he was prevented from talking publicly even about the science underpinning the research to enable the U.S. public to have a better understanding of a complicated issue. He said most of the public debate over the matter has been driven by political, ideological or theological motivations.
"I was blocked at every turn. I was told the decision had already been made -- stand down, don't talk about it," he said.
Carmona testified with two predecessors, Dr. C. Everett Koop, who served under President Ronald Reagan, and Dr. David Satcher, named by Clinton but whose term ended under Bush.
Carmona said some of his predecessors told him, "We have never seen it as partisan, as malicious, as vindictive, as mean-spirited as it is today, and you clearly have worse than anyone's had."
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This comes from Boo Tyson of Mainstream Coalition in Kansas City. I second Boo's comments. Thanks, Boo. K
I am sending you a link to a video that came out yesterday in the news. As I watched this unfold on the floor of US Senate, I was both embarrassed and angered. I was embarrassed by the actions of fellow Christians, who, as you can see on the video, showed great disrespect and arrogance in their willingness to interrupt the prayer of a fellow human being. Not only don't they respect his religious perspective, they also view the government as "belonging" to them. It was this lack of respect for religious plurality and liberty that angered me.
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2007/07/12/vo.senate.prayer.arrests.cnn
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I'm putting this in General b/c, although it speaks to MO, Walgreens is everywhere. K
ACTION ALERT....WALGREENS....ACTION ALERT....WALGREENS...ACTION ALERT
Walgreens says it stocks emergency contraception (EC), but some women have gotten a run-around when trying to get EC and birth control prescriptions filled! Join NARAL Pro-Choice Missouri and Missouri Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice in taking action! We are collecting Walgreens receipts with your signature and "I want EC without hassle!" written on the back.
Let's show Walgreens that their customers demand better treatment! As we speak, a pending case in a St. Louis/Metro East federal court is seeking to allow pharmacists to be able to refuse to fill EC prescriptions.
Walgreens has asked the court to allow it to let each store decide. Help us tell Walgreens that women should decide! Please mail your receipts from now through December 31, 2007 to: NARAL Pro-Choice Missouri 4144 Lindell Blvd., #505 Saint Louis, MO 63108
Contact: NARAL Pro-Choice Missouri / can@ProChoiceAmerica.org for more information.
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OK, this is an indulgence for me but I wanted to share with you. Anna Eshoo is my cousin and, of course, I'm Assyrian so this masascre in Iraq is particularly horrifying to me, not just for the Iraqis, but for the unnecessary loss of American life. K
Religious and Ethnic Persecution Continues in Iraq 22.Aug.2007
Facts reported to U.S. Commission
August, 2007 — If the targeted persecution and deadly violence against Christians continues in Iraq, it may be the end of the presence of this ancient people who have inhabited that land formore than 6,000 years. That is the message the Chaldean Assyrian Syriac Council of America (CASCA) is voicing throughout the country and topic of discussion at the first of two hearings with the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). As the bloodshed continues, witnesses gave dramatic first-hand accounts of life and deteriorating conditions for the Christian Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac people in war-torn Iraq during the hearing on July 25.
"Together with the rising tide of sectarian violence, conditions for religious minorities and the associated Iraqi crisis require heightened attention and more effective action by the U.S. government," said Michael Cromartie, chair of the USCIRF "That is why we are having this hearing."
Since the start of the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, the population of Iraqi Christians has been drastically dwindling. More than 700,000 of the 1.2 million are either internally displaced, seeking shelter in Kurdish Regional Province and Nineveh Plain cities, or stranded in neighboring countries seeking asylum.
Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (D-CA) first-generation American of Assyrian and Armenian descent believes that there are significant factors that have contributed to the current crisis. Iraq's religious minority populations do not receive adequate development assistance. "Because they represent such a small community, their voice in national politics is relatively weak," said Eshoo. Christians in Iraq are not armed. They are not protected by any militia, so they are easy targets and clearly unwanted in Iraq by the Muslim extremist. Churches are being bombed, priests kidnapped and killed. Many Christians are being forced to convert to Islam, wear Islamic headscarves, pay burdensome taxes or ransom money to Muslims, and forced to leave their homes and businesses with only the clothes on their backs.
The Chaldean Assyrian Syriac Council of America (CASCA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to matters of public policy and political purpose of the common benefit of the society of Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac people in Diaspora and those in the indigenous lands of Bet-Nahrain and Mesopotamia
Written by: Jackie Bejan
ESNA © EasternStar News Agency
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GREAT article! K
Quindlen: How Much Jail Time for Women Who Have Abortions?
By Anna Quindlen
Newsweek
Aug. 6, 2007 issue - Buried among prairie dogs and amateur animation shorts on YouTube is a curious little mini-documentary shot in front of an abortion clinic in Libertyville, Ill. The man behind the camera is asking demonstrators who want abortion criminalized what the penalty should be for a woman who has one nonetheless. You have rarely seen people look more gobsmacked. It's as though the guy has asked them to solve quadratic equations. Here are a range of responses: "I've never really thought about it." "I don't have an answer for that." "I don't know." "Just pray for them."
You have to hand it to the questioner; he struggles manfully. "Usually when things are illegal there's a penalty attached," he explains patiently. But he can't get a single person to be decisive about the crux of a matter they have been approaching with absolute certainty.
A new public-policy group called the National Institute for Reproductive Health wants to take this contradiction and make it the centerpiece of a national conversation, along with a slogan that stops people in their tracks: how much time should she do? If the Supreme Court decides abortion is not protected by a constitutional guarantee of privacy, the issue will revert to the states. If it goes to the states, some, perhaps many, will ban abortion. If abortion is made a crime, then surely the woman who has one is a criminal. But, boy, do the doctrinaire suddenly turn squirrelly at the prospect of throwing women in jail.
"They never connect the dots," says Jill June, president of Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa. But her organization urged voters to do just that in the last gubernatorial election, in which the Republican contender believed abortion should be illegal even in cases of rape and incest. "We wanted him to tell the women of Iowa exactly how much time he expected them to serve in jail if they had an abortion," June recalled. Chet Culver, the Democrat who unabashedly favors legal abortion, won that race, proving that choice can be a winning issue if you force people to stop evading the hard facts. "How have we come this far in the debate and been oblivious to the logical ramifications of making abortion illegal?" June says.
Perhaps by ignoring or infantilizing women, turning them into "victims" of their own free will. State statutes that propose punishing only a physician suggest the woman was merely some addled bystander who happened to find herself in the wrong stirrups at the wrong time. Such a view seemed to be a vestige of the past until the Supreme Court handed down its most recent abortion decision upholding a federal prohibition on a specific procedure. Justice Anthony Kennedy, obviously feeling excessively paternal, argued that the ban protected women from themselves. "While we find no reliable data to measure the phenomenon," he wrote, "it seems unexceptionable to conclude some women come to regret their choice to abort the infant life they once created and sustained."
Even with "no reliable data," he went on to conclude that "severe depression and loss of esteem can follow." (Apparently, no one has told Justice Kennedy about the severe depression and loss of esteem that can follow bearing and raising a baby you can't afford and didn't want.) Luckily, there still remains one justice on the court who has actually been pregnant, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg roared back with a dissent that called Kennedy's caveat about regret an "anti-abortion shibboleth" and his opinion a reflection of "ancient notions about women's place in the family and under the Constitution—ideas that have long since been discredited."
Those ancient notions undergird the refusal to confront the logical endpoint of criminalization. Lawmakers in a number of states have already passed or are considering statutes designed to outlaw abortion if Roe is overturned. But almost none hold the woman, the person who set the so-called crime in motion, accountable. Is the message that women are not to be held responsible for their actions? Or is it merely that those writing the laws understand that if women were going to jail, the vast majority of Americans would violently object? Watch the demonstrators in Libertyville try to worm their way out of the hypocrisy: It's murder, but she'll get her punishment from God. It's murder, but it depends on her state of mind. It's murder, but the penalty should be ... counseling?
The great thing about video is that you can see the mental wheels turning as these people realize that they somehow have overlooked something central while they were slinging certainties. Nearly 20 years ago, in a presidential debate, George Bush the elder was asked this very question, whether in making abortion illegal he would punish the woman who had one. "I haven't sorted out the penalties," he said lamely. Neither, it turns out, has anyone else. But there are only two logical choices: hold women accountable for a criminal act by sending them to prison, or refuse to criminalize the act in the first place. If you can't countenance the first, you have to accept the second. You can't have it both ways.
LOCAL
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PLEA FOR HELP
Buying Influence Inc. needs your help. We are continuing our efforts of working on three major, critical issues of stopping the wage gap, influencing America’s corporations to become more socially responsible through corporate evaluations, and garnering and directing consumer activism toward making changes that have a positive effect on equality for all. To continue with our successes and to go the next level, Maria Kunstadter and Linda Eakes are asking for your assistance.
We are asking you to become a subscriber with a donation of $250, $100, $50, or $25. With your subscription, you will have a direct impact on continuing to make the world a fair and equal place for everyone. Plus, since Buying Influence Inc. is a 501c3, your donations are tax deductible. We can't do it without you!
If you would like to make your donation by credit card, you may call Linda Eakes at 816-931-7896 or email her at lindaeakes@sbcglobal.net and give her your billing address, credit card number, and the amount of your donation. Please be advised that after the credit card transactions are approved, we do not keep your credit card information on file. All credit card information is destroyed. As Buying Influence Inc. is a non-profit organization, a receipt can be sent to you at your request.
If you would like to pay by check, simply make the check out to Buying Influence Inc., and mail it to Linda Eakes, Buying Influence Inc., 801 W. 47th Street, Suite 110 , Kansas City , MO , 64112 .
If you have any questions, or need additional information, please do not hesitate to call us at 816-931-7896, or send us an email at lindaeakes@sbcglobal.net. Thank you in advance for your generous support. Together, we CAN make a difference.
Dr. Maria Kunstadter - CEO and Founder Linda Eakes – Executive Director
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State Rep Beth Low Forum Series
Round Table Coffee Discussion on Environmental Legislation and the Global Impact
Saturday, September 15, 2007
10:30 a.m.
Coffee Break
5400 Troost, Kansas City. MO 64110
_________________________________________________
Public Forum on Reproductive Health and Sex Education
October 23, 2007
6:00 p.m.
Trails West Branch, Kansas City Public Library
11401 E 23rd St
Independence, MO 64052
Lindsey Walker
In-District Legislative Assistant
State Representative Beth Low, District 39
816-721-7044
linzwalker@gmail.com
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New Overland Park Community Recycling Center!
First, Bridging The Gap is pleased to announce that we will be opening a brand-new recycling center in partnership with Overland Park, Kansas, on Tuesday, Sept. 18. The center will be open every week Tuesday through Saturday, so this is a great volunteer opportunity for people with busy schedules! The hours are Tuesday-Friday from 9:30-5:30 and Saturdays 8-4. Located at 119th and Hardy, just west of Metcalf, the new center will expand the recycling services of residents by accepting a wider range of materials than ever before in Overland Park. Volunteers will play an essential role in the center’s operations by assisting and educating recyclers. To volunteer or for more information, please call Bridging The Gap at 816-561-1090. Volunteers may choose the frequency with which they volunteer. (We continue to operate three other recycling centers in Kansas City, Mo., which were referred to in my previous email.)
Paper-Shredding Event - Saturday, September 22, 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Metro North Recycling Center location ONLY
Bridging The Gap will host a one-day-only document shredding event, and volunteers are needed to help! Small businesses, nonprofits and individuals are welcome to bring their documents for shredding that day; a small donation will be accepted based on the amount of materials presented for shredding. Volunteers are needed to help people unload their cars and carry their documents to the shredder, which will be operated by PROSHRED®. The Kansas City Community Recycling Center at Metro North is located in the northwest corner of the Metro North Mall parking lot. Shifts are 9-12 and 12-3, and four volunteers are needed per shift. To volunteer, call Laura O'Brien at 816-561-1090 or lobrien@bridgingthegap.org. For more information about the event itself, call Kevin Chafin at the same number or email kevin@bridgingthegap.org.
Laura O'Brien, Volunteer Coordinator
Bridging The Gap - Connecting Environment, Economy, Community
816-561-1061, ext. 109
www.bridgingthegap.org
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Cockefair Lecture scheduled for October 9
While reporting and commenting on the Terri Schiavo case for Newsweek and the Fox News Channel in 2005, Eleanor Clift was caring for her dying husband.
In this lecture, Clift will describe how she handled such dual and sometimes competing roles, how one situation influenced the other, and where to draw the line between reporting on public and private dilemmas.
Clift wrote a book on her experiences, Two Weeks of Life -- A Memoir of Love, Death and Politics, which will be published in April 2008.
The lecture is scheduled for Tuesday, October 9 at 7 p.m. in Pierson Auditorium at the University of Missouri-Kansas City University Center, 50th & Rockhill Road in Kansas City, Mo. The lecture is free and reservations are required. Contact the UMKC Central Ticket Office at 816-235-6222.
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MEMORANDUM
TO: The Hard-Working People of Missouri
FR: Missouri Democratic Party
A Special Session for the Special Interests
This week, Matt Blunt has brought the legislature back to Jefferson City for a special session to pass an economic bill that does nothing to help regular Missourians, but gives away millions to the special interests and wealthy corporations. An editorial in today's Springfield News-Leader characterized it as "giving the state treasury away to people who don't really need the help."
And instead of restoring health care for some of the thousands of children who no longer have it thanks to Blunt, the Governor wants to give a $95 million tax credit to one wealthy St. Louis developer.
Blunt's bill also includes a provision that has nothing to do with economic development and everything to do with giving money to his favorite wealthy lobbyist, his brother Andy.
Matt Blunt has made a mockery of this special session by insisting that the needs of his brother's lobbying clients get put ahead of the economic interests of our state. Instead of wasting taxpayer money on a special session for special interests, Matt Blunt should put Missouri's working families first for a change.
*****
Down in the Polls and Desperate, Blunt Turns to Karl Rove GOP Handbook -- Attacks "Activist Judges"
Growing more desperate in his re-election bid, Matt Blunt is digging deeper into his "Karl Rove Republican Playbook." Article 3, Section 2 of the playbook says: If you're floundering and have no accomplishments to run on, distract the voters with baseless attacks on "activist judges."
Blunt isn't fooling anyone.
When he started attacking the Missouri Court Plan last week -- a system designed to take politics out of the judicial nomination process that other states have replicated -- everyone called Blunt out for what he his: a Governor more worried about playing politics than governing.
Springfield News-Leader: "We believe Blunt, and the many supporters of his who have been waging a war of words over the state's judicial system, are just plain wrong in their attacks. We believe the tenor of most of those attacks is politically motivated and does damage to the independence of the judicial branch of government."
Bill Graham, KC Star: "Blunt and his allies have railed against activist judges. To me, it seems more like they're trying to give an extremely conservative governor more power to appoint judges that will be activists for their causes."
Chip Robertson, former Missouri Supreme Court Justice and conservative Republican, in the KC Star: ". . . Robertson said he was incensed over the attacks on the nonpartisan court plan, which he insisted has worked well for nearly 70 years. 'We've avoided in this state all of the controversy, all of the difficulty that has attended court systems in other states that have a different method,' he said."
KC Star Editorial: "The governor himself is inappropriately contemptuous of judges in general, and also of the nationally respected process by which Missouri's statewide judges are selected."
Governor: Instead of resorting to the same old Republican playbook, how about showing some real leadership in filling the vacancy on the Missouri Supreme Court?
*****
Blunt Silent as Missouri's Economy Continues to Fall Behind
While Matt Blunt is focused on special interest giveaways and millionaire tax credits, regular Missourians are struggling to make ends meet. According to the most recent numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Missouri has lost 11,100 jobs in the past two months alone.
Add that to these sobering facts about Missouri's lagging economy:
If Missouri's economy had grown at the country's mean growth rate under the Blunt administration, 32,463 more Missourians would have jobs today.
Missouri ranks 48th in wage growth.
Missouri's unemployment rate, 4.9%, is above the national average.
Missourians are working harder, yet they're falling further behind. Regular Missourians are ready for a Governor who will start putting their needs ahead of the special interests and wealthy corporations.
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KC AFSC Peace and Justice Alerts (September 4, 2007)
Educate Yourself. Share your knowledge. Take Action!
For information about the American Friends Service Committee,
contact us at 816 931-5256 or afsckc@afsc.org
Come to the KC Iraq Task Force Monthly Meeting to build a movement to end this war and prevent the one in preparation!
Monday, September 24th at 6:30pm at the AFSC office, 4405 Gillham Rd., KCMO or call us to volunteer.
At this meeting we will begin exploring ways of moving beyond protest to creative strategic nonviolent action.
Help us build a stronger more powerful peace movement!
September 14, Friday, NO END IN SIGHT: THE AMERICAN OCCUPATION OF IRAQ. The first film of its kind to chronicle the reasons behind Iraq’s descent into guerilla war, warlord rule, criminality and anarchy, NO END IN SIGHT is a jaw-dropping, insider’s tale of wholesale incompetence, recklessness and venality. Sundance Film Festival Winner -Special Jury Prize: Documentary 2007 at the Tivoli Cinemas, Manor Square in Westport, 4050 Pennsylvania, KCMO. Call 913/ 383-7756 for show times
September 14, Friday, 7:00 PM, Kathy Kelly, peace activist and Nobel Prize nominee, will speak at at the Main Street Coffee House, 107 S Main St , Independence , MO. Kathy Kelly will report on her work with Iraqi refugees in Amman, Jordon. All are welcome. Sponsored by the group, Community of Christ Network Advocating Justice and Peace. Further information David Mason davidmason01@sbcglobal.net
September 15, Saturday, 12 noon to 1:30pm, Iraq Veterans Against the War Support GI Resistance Peace March and Rally, starting at Blue Jacket Park, W. 101st Street and Bond Street, Overland Park, KS (2 blocks east of Quivira) marching to Sen. Bronwback’s office around Oak Park Mall
September 16, Sunday, 7:30 p.m. Kathy Kelly- The Consequences of War, Saint Francis Xavier Church, 1001 East 52 Street (52nd & Troost), KCMO, 816-523-5115
September 21, Friday, 1:00 P.M., International Day of Peace Observance by members of Community of Christ Network Advocating Justice and Peace during the daily Prayer for Peace at the Community of Christ Temple, 1001 W. Walnut [River and Walnut], Independence, MO.
October 26-28, Third, the Community of Christ annual Peace Colloquy, will feature the presentation of the International Peace Award Friday, October 26, 7:30 P.M. to Virgilio Elizondo, father of the U.S. Hispanic Theology, professor at University of Notre Dame, and priest/pastor from San Antonio; and to Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the National Farm Workers Union. Workshops covering achieving personal peace, community peace activities and national/international peace movements will be held on Saturday and Sunday. For more details and registration, go to http://www.cofchrist.org/peacecolloquy/
September 24th, Monday, 6:30pm, KC Iraq Task Force Meeting to implement plans from our strategic meeting bringing our message out to people, exposing the economic costs of the war and the war profiteering which continues to support it. AFSC office, 4405 Gillham Rd., KCMO.
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EVERY Sunday: Iraq Peace Vigil, 4pm, JC Nichols Fountain, 47th & Main, Streets, Kansas City, MO http://www.kciraqtaskforce.org/
EVERY Tuesday, JOIN THIS Peace Demonstration Every Tuesday between 5PM - 6 PM in the median strip on the south corner of the intersection at 63rd & Ward Parkway, Kansas City, Mo. For more information email '63rd Street Patriots' at schwartzkatz@sbcglobal.net
Every Wednesday, 5:00pm, Iraq Anti-War Protest, College and Quivira, Overland Park, KS (NW corner). Send a message to Sen. Pat Robert that it’s time to end the war!
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SAVE THE DATE!
25TH ANNIVERSARY DINNER AND CELEBRATION of GLOBAL AND MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION CENTER
PRINCESS GARDENS, 8906 WORNALL ROAD
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13 2007, 6:00-8:00 P.M.
Our celebration begins at 6:00 with a reception and dinner.
Service awards will be presented!
International trivia game with prizes!
Watch for your invitation‹Invite your friends of all ages.
Questions? Want to make your reservation now?
<>
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Kathy Kelly
The Consequences of War
Sunday Sept. 16, 2007, 7:30 p.m.
Saint Francis Xavier Church
1001 East 52 Street (52nd & Troost)
Kansas City, MO 64110
816-523-5115
Kathy Kelly, long-time peace activist and member of a Catholic Worker Community in Chicago, will report on the consequences of war that she has witnessed in Amman, Jordan, where she recently spent two months among the large and growing community of Iraqis who have fled the violence in their country.
Her talk will focus on the consequences of war for displaced Iraqis, for Americans who suffer neglect because of a bloated military budget and for the planet when we fail to address major environmental problems in part because inordinate resources go toward military pursuits.
Her talk will include an invitation to engage in a sustained campaign of resistance.
Recent articles she has written from Jordan can be found at the Voices website at www.vcnv.org.
This lecture is the first of a series of events planned at St. Francis throughout the coming year on the topics of nonviolence and peacemaking
Sponsored by the SFX Adult Education Committee
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Support GI Resistance
Peace March and Rally
September 15th, Saturday
Hello everyone, This is Mike Sanger President of the Iraq Veterans Against the War KC chapter. We are coming on two weeks before our BIG antiwar protest. This is it, it is up to all of us to put the word out there. I have been doing this myself as much as I can mostly in the surrounding colleges. Talk to people, pass out flyer's and forward this e-mail to everyone in your contact list. NOW IS YOUR CHANCE TO FINALLY DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS. Don't let anymore of our loved ones die in Iraq for what is now being viewed as a crime against humanity.
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Support GI Resistance
Peace March and Rally
September 15th, Saturday
Moving America
from the Mall to Ending the Iraq War
Location:
Gathering Rally: 12 noon to 12:30 Blue Jacket Park, W. 101 and Bond Street, Overland Park, KS (2 blocks east of Quivira)
March & Rally: 12:30pm to 1:30pm
to Sen. Bronwback’s office around Oak Park Mall (approx. ½ miles)
Organized by:
Iraq Veterans Against the War, Kansas City chapter
with KC Iraq Task Force, and KS Mutual Aide
“The best way to support the troops is to end the war and bring them home NOW!”
(Michael Sanger, IVAW Kansas City chapter President)
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Tell Congress to
Stop the March to War with Iran
Contact your Representatives today and demand action!
President Bush announced today that he has authorized US forces in Iraq to confront Iran militarily. "I have authorized our military commanders in Iraq to confront Tehran's murderous activities," Bush said in a speech to US war veterans in Reno. Simultaneously, US forces raided a hotel in Baghdad and detained ten Iranians who according to a U.S.-funded radio station included members of an Iranian negotiation team.
This move comes amidst a campaign by the White House to escalate the rhetorical war between Washington and Tehran, in which the President has taken concerted new steps toward war. This flurry of rhetoric has largely rung hollow in the halls of Congress, as members are away for summer recess.
While Congress has been gone, the harshness and frequency of the rhetoric from both sides has steadily increased. Last week the Bush administration announced its intention to designate the IRGC as a terrorist entity, an unprecedented move. This week in Reno, the President reiterated accusations that Iran was smuggling weapons into Iraq while chastising the Iraqi prime minister for his diplomatic relations with Iran. Left unchallenged, all these steps point in one, undeniable direction: War.
The recent moves follow a familiar pattern. In January 2007, the President accused Iran of supplying IED's to Iraqi insurgents, signaling his intention to use military force to attack Iran. Simultaneously, US forces detained five Iranians at an Iranian consulate in the Iraqi city of Irbil. Congress successfully averted crisis through swift and strong reactions to the escalated rhetoric. Congress took immediate action by challenging the President to provide evidence for the claims.
Now, as the White House is once again escalating tensions, Congress must act to prevent war from occurring.
Write a letter to your lawmakers today urging them to take immediate action. Tell your representative to prevent the march towards war!
National Iranian-American Council
http://capwiz.com/niacouncil/issues/alert/?alertid=10237066
Take Action Now!
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We need your support to keep our life affirming peacemaking work alive.
Contribute. Volunteer. Spread the word!
Contact us and mail your tax deductible contribution to:
American Friends Service Committee
4405 Gillham Rd., KCMO 64110
(816) 931-5256
Ira Harritt
Kansas City Program
American Friends Service Committee
4405 Gillham Rd., KCMO 64110
(816) 931-5256
Fax (816) 561-5033
Welcome back to school and to Autumn. I'm loving the recent, cool weather! Hope you are too.
There's so much to cover but first I want to alert you to our next meeting. It's going to be Oct. 1, Monday, at 9 a.m. I'm still working on location but I think we're covered there. I'm so excited. Grant Mallett of Wes Jackson's Land Institute is coming to tell us about the fabulous things they're working on in the field of food and natural resource sustainability. I've heard Grant speak on this topic and it's fascinating and uplifting. I hope you can come. I'll send the details as they becomes available.
Also, make sure to get to the LOCAL section to peruse all the events happening in KC.
Thanks,
Kristin
Onward...
HUMOR
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Saint George and the Truth Dragon
President George W. Bush was scheduled to visit the Episcopal Church outside Washington as part of his campaign to restore his poll standings. Bush's campaign manager made a visit to the Bishop, and said to him, "We've been getting a lot of bad publicity because of the president's position on stem cell research, the Iraq war, Katrina, and the like. We'd gladly make a contribution to the church of $100,000 if during your sermon you'd say the President is a saint."
The Bishop thought it over for a few moments and finally said, "The Church is in desperate need of funds and I will agree to do it." The donation was then made.
Bush showed up for the sermon and the Bishop began: "I'd like to speak to you all this morning about our President. George W. Bush is a corrupt grafter, a power-hungry near dictator, a liar, a cheat, a hypocrite and a low-intelligence weasel. He took the tragedy of September 11 and used it to frighten and manipulate the will of the American people. He lied about weapons of mass destruction and invaded Iraq for oil and money and personal vengence to punish Saddam for attempting to assasinate his father, causing the deaths of tens of thousands and making the United States the most hated country on Earth.
"He appointed cronies to positions of power and influence, which led to widespread death and destruction during Hurricane Katrina. He awarded contracts and tax cuts to his rich friends so that we now have more poverty in this country and a greater gap between rich and poor than we've had since the Depression. He instituted illegal wiretaps without even getting a warrant from a secret court which would have been a mere administrative detail. Then he had his henchmen lie to Congress about it and ultimately claimed with presidential privilege that he is above the law.
"He has headed the most corrupt, bribe-inducing, sexually deviate-filled and morally bankrupt political party since Teapot Dome, when I was young. The 5 trillion dollar national surplus has turned into a staggering national debt of 7.6 trillion dollars, gas prices are up over 100%, and vital research into global warming and stem cells is stopped cold because he's afraid to lose votes from some religious kooks and offend his Saudi Oil petrogang. "He is the worst example of a true Christian I've ever known. But compared to Dick Cheney and Karl Rove, George Bush is a SAINT."
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Obviously, he was replaced by a pod person...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BEsZMvrq-I
Actually, this is not funny. I wish it were. K
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"People are at least as smart as goats. Now one of the ways I keep those goats in the fence is I electrified them. Once they got popped a couple of times, they quit trying to jump it."
Sen. Trent Lott from Mississippi on how to deal with illegal immigration at the border
Again, not funny. K
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Direct quote from the just published REAGAN DIARIES.
The entry is dated May 17, 1986.
'A moment I've been dreading. George brought his ne're-do-well son around this morning and asked me to find the kid a job. Not the political one who lives in Florida. The one who hangs around here all the time looking shiftless. This so-called kid is already almost 40 and has never had a real job. Maybe I'll call Kinsley over at The New Republic and see if they'll
hire him as a contributing editor or something. That looks like easy work.'
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A Montana cowboy was overseeing his herd in a remote mountainous pasture when suddenly a brand-new BMW advanced out of a dust cloud towards him.
The driver, a young man in a Brioni suit, Gucci shoes, Ray Ban Sunglasses and YSL tie, leans out the window and asks the cowboy, "If I tell you exactly how many cows and calves you have in your herd, Will you give me a calf?"
The cowboy looks at the man, obviously a yuppie, then looks at his peacefully grazing herd and calmly answers, "Sure, why not?"
The yuppie parks his car, whips out his Dell notebook computer, Connects it to his Cingular RAZR V3 cell phone, and surfs to a NASA Page on the Internet, where he calls up a GPS satellite navigation System to get an exact fix on his location which he then feeds to another NASA satellite that scans the area in an ultra-high-resolution photo.
The young man then opens the digital photo in Adobe Photoshop and exports it to an image processing facility in Hamburg, Germany.
Within seconds, he receives an email on his Palm Pilot that the image has been processed and the data stored.
He then accesses a MS-SQL database through an ODBC connected Excel Spreadsheet with email on his Blackberry and, after a few minutes, receives a response.
Finally, he prints out a full-color, 150-page report on his hi-tech, miniaturized HP LaserJet printer and finally turns to the cowboy and says, "You have exactly 1,586 cows and calves."
"That's right. Well, I guess you can take one of my calves,"
says the Cowboy.
He watches the young man select one of the animals and looks on amused as the young man stuffs it into the trunk of his car.
Then the cowboy says to the young man, "Hey, if I can tell you exactly what your business is, will you give me back my calf?"
The young man thinks about it for a second and then says, "Okay, why not?"
You're a Republican Congressman for the U.S. Government", says the cowboy.
"Wow! That's correct," says the yuppie, "but how did you guess that?"
"No guessing was required." answered the cowboy. "You showed up here even though nobody called you; you want to get paid for an answer I already knew, to a question I never asked. You tried to show me how much smarter than me you are; and you don't know a thing about cows...this is a herd of sheep.
Now give me back my dog.
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Demographics of American Newspapers
1. The Wall Street Journal is read by the people who run the country.
2. The Washington Post is read by people who think they run the country.
3. The New York Times is read by people who think they should run the country and who are very good at crossword puzzles.
4. USA Today is read by people who think they ought to run the country, but don't really understand The New York Times. They do, however, like their statistics shown in pie charts.
5. The Los Angeles Times is read by people who wouldn't mind running the country -- if they could find the time -- and if they didn't have to leave Southern California to do it.
6. The Boston Globe is read by people whose parents used to run the country and did a far superior job of it, thank you very much.
7. The New York Daily News is read by people who aren't too sure who's running the country and don't really care as long as they can get a seat on the train.
8. The New York Post is read by people who don't care who's running the country as long as they do something really scandalous, preferably while intoxicated.
9. The Miami Herald is read by people who are running another country but need the baseball scores.
10. The San Francisco Chronicle is read by people who aren't sure there is a country . . or that anyone is running it; but if so, they oppose all that they stand for. There are occasional exceptions if the leaders are handicapped minority feminist atheist dwarfs who also happen to be illegal aliens from any other country or galaxy, provided of course, that they are not Republicans.
11. The National Enquirer is read by people trapped in line at the grocery store.
12. The Oregonian is read by people who have recently caught a fish and need something in which to wrap it.
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GENERAL
======
Mastectomy Hospital Bill in Congress
A mastectomy is when a woman's breast is removed in order to remove cancerous breast cells/tissue. If you know anyone who has had a mastectomy, you may know that there is a lot of discomfort and pain afterwards.
Insurance companies are trying to make mastectomies an outpatient procedure. Let's give women the chance to recover properly in the hospital for 2 days after surgery.
Please send this to everyone in your address book. If there was ever a time when our voices and choices should be heard, this is one of those times. If you're receiving this, it's because I think you will take the 30 seconds to go to vote on this issue and
send it on to others you know who will do the same.
There's a bill called the Breast Cancer PatientProtection Act which will require insurance companies to cover a minimum 48-hour hospital stay for patients undergoing a mastectomy. It's about eliminating the "drive-through mastectomy" where women are forced to go home just a few hours after surgery, against the wishes of their doctor, still groggy from anesthesia and sometimes with drainage tubes still attached.
Lifetime Television has put this bill on their web page with a petition drive to show your support. Last year over half the House signed on.
PLEASE!! Sign the petition by clicking on the web site below. You need not give more than your name and zip code.
HYPERLINK http://www.lifetimetv.com/health/breast_mastectomy_pledge.html
PLEASE PASS THIS ON to your friends and family and, on behalf of all women,
THANKS.
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From Courtney at It's Only Natural in Kansas City...
Can't buy everything organic? Don't you wish you could?
But hey! Even buying some things organic is a benefit to you, your family and the planet! But how do you know when you really shouldn't even consider conventional items because of high pesticide residue (like soy products and peanut butter) and when you can buy them with relative peace of mind?
To help you out, the nonprofit Environmental Working Group studied 43 fruits and vegetables and ranked them according to contamination. Choose organic versions of the top 12 (listed here) and you'll reduce your exposure by almost 90 percent:
Peaches, Apples, Bell Peppers, Celery, Nectarines, Strawberries, Cherries, Pears, Grapes (imported), Spinach, Lettuce and Potatoes.
Also from Courtney:
Eco-Tip: Bottled Water - Time to Regroup and Refill!
Have there been enough articles to get you to stop buying bottled water?? Between the companies coming clean that a lot of bottled water is actually tap water (up to 40% of it!!), to hearing staggering numbers like 22 billion empty plastic water bottles ended up in the trash last year (even though they can be recycled 8 out of 10 are NOT), to learning that it takes more than 1.5 million barrels of oil to make the bottles themselves, to also learning it takes 6 times the amount of water in the bottle to make the bottle, to the banning of the purchasing of bottled water with city government dollars in San Francisco, to restaurants in Boston, New York and San Francisco taking bottled water off the menu (offering filtered tap water instead) - and the problems don't stop there.
How about that bottled water costs thousands of dollars more than tap water - but even if you don't trust tap water and decide to put a filtration system on your house (about $500, Advanced Water Tech 913-432-0271 is who I used)- a family of four could start saving money in as little as two months!!!
But finally - its time to face the truth. That even if you justified your bottled water habit by consistently recycling the bottles - the recycling doesn't eliminate the plastic. The recycling only gives it ONE more life cycle - in other words the plastic bottle may get turned into carpet, goggles or outdoor furniture - but after that - its time for the landfill. Where it will never really fully biodegrade.
So, grab a glass bottle, a stainless steel bottle (kleankanteen.com), an epoxy-lined aluminum bottle (mysigg.com), if you're gonna do a plastic reuseable bottle make sure its a #2 high density polyethylene (Nalgene makes one - but NOT all of their bottles are the #2) and Refill, Refill, Refill!!! I promise, once you start doing it, it becomes just as easy a habit as stocking up on cases of bottled water!
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Typical Bush White House. K
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The first U.S. surgeon general appointed by President George W. Bush accused the administration on Tuesday of political interference and muzzling him on key issues like embryonic stem cell research.
"Anything that doesn't fit into the political appointees' ideological, theological or political agenda is ignored, marginalized or simply buried," Dr. Richard Carmona, who served as the nation's top doctor from 2002 until 2006, told a House of Representatives committee.
"The problem with this approach is that in public health, as in a democracy, there is nothing worse than ignoring science, or marginalizing the voice of science for reasons driven by changing political winds. The job of surgeon general is to be the doctor of the nation, not the doctor of a political party," Carmona added.
Carmona said Bush administration political appointees censored his speeches and kept him from talking out publicly about certain issues, including the science on embryonic stem cell research, contraceptives and his misgivings about the administration's embrace of "abstinence-only" sex education.
Carmona's comments came two days before a Senate committee is due to hold a hearing on Bush's nomination of Dr. James Holsinger as his successor. The administration allowed Carmona to finish his term as surgeon general last year without a replacement in place.
Gay rights activists and several leading Democrats have criticized Holsinger for what they see as "anti-gay" writings, but the White House has defended him as well qualified.
U.S. surgeons general in the past have issued influential reports on subjects including smoking, AIDS and mental health.
"Political interference with the work of the surgeon general appears to have reached a new level in this administration," said Rep. Henry Waxman, a California Democrat who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to which Carmona testified.
"The public expects that a surgeon general will be immune from political pressure and be allowed to express his or her professional views based on the best available science," he said.
Carmona said he was politically naive when he took the job, but became astounded at the partisanship and manipulation he witnessed as administration political appointees hemmed him in.
Bush in 2001 allowed federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research, but only with heavy restrictions that many scientists condemn as stifling.
Carmona said the administration prevented him from voicing views on stem cell research. Many scientists see it as a promising avenue for curing many diseases. But because it involves destroying human embryos, opponents call it immoral.
Carmona said he was prevented from talking publicly even about the science underpinning the research to enable the U.S. public to have a better understanding of a complicated issue. He said most of the public debate over the matter has been driven by political, ideological or theological motivations.
"I was blocked at every turn. I was told the decision had already been made -- stand down, don't talk about it," he said.
Carmona testified with two predecessors, Dr. C. Everett Koop, who served under President Ronald Reagan, and Dr. David Satcher, named by Clinton but whose term ended under Bush.
Carmona said some of his predecessors told him, "We have never seen it as partisan, as malicious, as vindictive, as mean-spirited as it is today, and you clearly have worse than anyone's had."
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This comes from Boo Tyson of Mainstream Coalition in Kansas City. I second Boo's comments. Thanks, Boo. K
I am sending you a link to a video that came out yesterday in the news. As I watched this unfold on the floor of US Senate, I was both embarrassed and angered. I was embarrassed by the actions of fellow Christians, who, as you can see on the video, showed great disrespect and arrogance in their willingness to interrupt the prayer of a fellow human being. Not only don't they respect his religious perspective, they also view the government as "belonging" to them. It was this lack of respect for religious plurality and liberty that angered me.
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2007/07/12/vo.senate.prayer.arrests.cnn
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I'm putting this in General b/c, although it speaks to MO, Walgreens is everywhere. K
ACTION ALERT....WALGREENS....ACTION ALERT....WALGREENS...ACTION ALERT
Walgreens says it stocks emergency contraception (EC), but some women have gotten a run-around when trying to get EC and birth control prescriptions filled! Join NARAL Pro-Choice Missouri and Missouri Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice in taking action! We are collecting Walgreens receipts with your signature and "I want EC without hassle!" written on the back.
Let's show Walgreens that their customers demand better treatment! As we speak, a pending case in a St. Louis/Metro East federal court is seeking to allow pharmacists to be able to refuse to fill EC prescriptions.
Walgreens has asked the court to allow it to let each store decide. Help us tell Walgreens that women should decide! Please mail your receipts from now through December 31, 2007 to: NARAL Pro-Choice Missouri 4144 Lindell Blvd., #505 Saint Louis, MO 63108
Contact: NARAL Pro-Choice Missouri / can@ProChoiceAmerica.org for more information.
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OK, this is an indulgence for me but I wanted to share with you. Anna Eshoo is my cousin and, of course, I'm Assyrian so this masascre in Iraq is particularly horrifying to me, not just for the Iraqis, but for the unnecessary loss of American life. K
Religious and Ethnic Persecution Continues in Iraq 22.Aug.2007
Facts reported to U.S. Commission
August, 2007 — If the targeted persecution and deadly violence against Christians continues in Iraq, it may be the end of the presence of this ancient people who have inhabited that land formore than 6,000 years. That is the message the Chaldean Assyrian Syriac Council of America (CASCA) is voicing throughout the country and topic of discussion at the first of two hearings with the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). As the bloodshed continues, witnesses gave dramatic first-hand accounts of life and deteriorating conditions for the Christian Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac people in war-torn Iraq during the hearing on July 25.
"Together with the rising tide of sectarian violence, conditions for religious minorities and the associated Iraqi crisis require heightened attention and more effective action by the U.S. government," said Michael Cromartie, chair of the USCIRF "That is why we are having this hearing."
Since the start of the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, the population of Iraqi Christians has been drastically dwindling. More than 700,000 of the 1.2 million are either internally displaced, seeking shelter in Kurdish Regional Province and Nineveh Plain cities, or stranded in neighboring countries seeking asylum.
Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (D-CA) first-generation American of Assyrian and Armenian descent believes that there are significant factors that have contributed to the current crisis. Iraq's religious minority populations do not receive adequate development assistance. "Because they represent such a small community, their voice in national politics is relatively weak," said Eshoo. Christians in Iraq are not armed. They are not protected by any militia, so they are easy targets and clearly unwanted in Iraq by the Muslim extremist. Churches are being bombed, priests kidnapped and killed. Many Christians are being forced to convert to Islam, wear Islamic headscarves, pay burdensome taxes or ransom money to Muslims, and forced to leave their homes and businesses with only the clothes on their backs.
The Chaldean Assyrian Syriac Council of America (CASCA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to matters of public policy and political purpose of the common benefit of the society of Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac people in Diaspora and those in the indigenous lands of Bet-Nahrain and Mesopotamia
Written by: Jackie Bejan
ESNA © EasternStar News Agency
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GREAT article! K
Quindlen: How Much Jail Time for Women Who Have Abortions?
By Anna Quindlen
Newsweek
Aug. 6, 2007 issue - Buried among prairie dogs and amateur animation shorts on YouTube is a curious little mini-documentary shot in front of an abortion clinic in Libertyville, Ill. The man behind the camera is asking demonstrators who want abortion criminalized what the penalty should be for a woman who has one nonetheless. You have rarely seen people look more gobsmacked. It's as though the guy has asked them to solve quadratic equations. Here are a range of responses: "I've never really thought about it." "I don't have an answer for that." "I don't know." "Just pray for them."
You have to hand it to the questioner; he struggles manfully. "Usually when things are illegal there's a penalty attached," he explains patiently. But he can't get a single person to be decisive about the crux of a matter they have been approaching with absolute certainty.
A new public-policy group called the National Institute for Reproductive Health wants to take this contradiction and make it the centerpiece of a national conversation, along with a slogan that stops people in their tracks: how much time should she do? If the Supreme Court decides abortion is not protected by a constitutional guarantee of privacy, the issue will revert to the states. If it goes to the states, some, perhaps many, will ban abortion. If abortion is made a crime, then surely the woman who has one is a criminal. But, boy, do the doctrinaire suddenly turn squirrelly at the prospect of throwing women in jail.
"They never connect the dots," says Jill June, president of Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa. But her organization urged voters to do just that in the last gubernatorial election, in which the Republican contender believed abortion should be illegal even in cases of rape and incest. "We wanted him to tell the women of Iowa exactly how much time he expected them to serve in jail if they had an abortion," June recalled. Chet Culver, the Democrat who unabashedly favors legal abortion, won that race, proving that choice can be a winning issue if you force people to stop evading the hard facts. "How have we come this far in the debate and been oblivious to the logical ramifications of making abortion illegal?" June says.
Perhaps by ignoring or infantilizing women, turning them into "victims" of their own free will. State statutes that propose punishing only a physician suggest the woman was merely some addled bystander who happened to find herself in the wrong stirrups at the wrong time. Such a view seemed to be a vestige of the past until the Supreme Court handed down its most recent abortion decision upholding a federal prohibition on a specific procedure. Justice Anthony Kennedy, obviously feeling excessively paternal, argued that the ban protected women from themselves. "While we find no reliable data to measure the phenomenon," he wrote, "it seems unexceptionable to conclude some women come to regret their choice to abort the infant life they once created and sustained."
Even with "no reliable data," he went on to conclude that "severe depression and loss of esteem can follow." (Apparently, no one has told Justice Kennedy about the severe depression and loss of esteem that can follow bearing and raising a baby you can't afford and didn't want.) Luckily, there still remains one justice on the court who has actually been pregnant, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg roared back with a dissent that called Kennedy's caveat about regret an "anti-abortion shibboleth" and his opinion a reflection of "ancient notions about women's place in the family and under the Constitution—ideas that have long since been discredited."
Those ancient notions undergird the refusal to confront the logical endpoint of criminalization. Lawmakers in a number of states have already passed or are considering statutes designed to outlaw abortion if Roe is overturned. But almost none hold the woman, the person who set the so-called crime in motion, accountable. Is the message that women are not to be held responsible for their actions? Or is it merely that those writing the laws understand that if women were going to jail, the vast majority of Americans would violently object? Watch the demonstrators in Libertyville try to worm their way out of the hypocrisy: It's murder, but she'll get her punishment from God. It's murder, but it depends on her state of mind. It's murder, but the penalty should be ... counseling?
The great thing about video is that you can see the mental wheels turning as these people realize that they somehow have overlooked something central while they were slinging certainties. Nearly 20 years ago, in a presidential debate, George Bush the elder was asked this very question, whether in making abortion illegal he would punish the woman who had one. "I haven't sorted out the penalties," he said lamely. Neither, it turns out, has anyone else. But there are only two logical choices: hold women accountable for a criminal act by sending them to prison, or refuse to criminalize the act in the first place. If you can't countenance the first, you have to accept the second. You can't have it both ways.
LOCAL
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PLEA FOR HELP
Buying Influence Inc. needs your help. We are continuing our efforts of working on three major, critical issues of stopping the wage gap, influencing America’s corporations to become more socially responsible through corporate evaluations, and garnering and directing consumer activism toward making changes that have a positive effect on equality for all. To continue with our successes and to go the next level, Maria Kunstadter and Linda Eakes are asking for your assistance.
We are asking you to become a subscriber with a donation of $250, $100, $50, or $25. With your subscription, you will have a direct impact on continuing to make the world a fair and equal place for everyone. Plus, since Buying Influence Inc. is a 501c3, your donations are tax deductible. We can't do it without you!
If you would like to make your donation by credit card, you may call Linda Eakes at 816-931-7896 or email her at lindaeakes@sbcglobal.net and give her your billing address, credit card number, and the amount of your donation. Please be advised that after the credit card transactions are approved, we do not keep your credit card information on file. All credit card information is destroyed. As Buying Influence Inc. is a non-profit organization, a receipt can be sent to you at your request.
If you would like to pay by check, simply make the check out to Buying Influence Inc., and mail it to Linda Eakes, Buying Influence Inc., 801 W. 47th Street, Suite 110 , Kansas City , MO , 64112 .
If you have any questions, or need additional information, please do not hesitate to call us at 816-931-7896, or send us an email at lindaeakes@sbcglobal.net. Thank you in advance for your generous support. Together, we CAN make a difference.
Dr. Maria Kunstadter - CEO and Founder Linda Eakes – Executive Director
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State Rep Beth Low Forum Series
Round Table Coffee Discussion on Environmental Legislation and the Global Impact
Saturday, September 15, 2007
10:30 a.m.
Coffee Break
5400 Troost, Kansas City. MO 64110
_________________________________________________
Public Forum on Reproductive Health and Sex Education
October 23, 2007
6:00 p.m.
Trails West Branch, Kansas City Public Library
11401 E 23rd St
Independence, MO 64052
Lindsey Walker
In-District Legislative Assistant
State Representative Beth Low, District 39
816-721-7044
linzwalker@gmail.com
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New Overland Park Community Recycling Center!
First, Bridging The Gap is pleased to announce that we will be opening a brand-new recycling center in partnership with Overland Park, Kansas, on Tuesday, Sept. 18. The center will be open every week Tuesday through Saturday, so this is a great volunteer opportunity for people with busy schedules! The hours are Tuesday-Friday from 9:30-5:30 and Saturdays 8-4. Located at 119th and Hardy, just west of Metcalf, the new center will expand the recycling services of residents by accepting a wider range of materials than ever before in Overland Park. Volunteers will play an essential role in the center’s operations by assisting and educating recyclers. To volunteer or for more information, please call Bridging The Gap at 816-561-1090. Volunteers may choose the frequency with which they volunteer. (We continue to operate three other recycling centers in Kansas City, Mo., which were referred to in my previous email.)
Paper-Shredding Event - Saturday, September 22, 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Metro North Recycling Center location ONLY
Bridging The Gap will host a one-day-only document shredding event, and volunteers are needed to help! Small businesses, nonprofits and individuals are welcome to bring their documents for shredding that day; a small donation will be accepted based on the amount of materials presented for shredding. Volunteers are needed to help people unload their cars and carry their documents to the shredder, which will be operated by PROSHRED®. The Kansas City Community Recycling Center at Metro North is located in the northwest corner of the Metro North Mall parking lot. Shifts are 9-12 and 12-3, and four volunteers are needed per shift. To volunteer, call Laura O'Brien at 816-561-1090 or lobrien@bridgingthegap.org. For more information about the event itself, call Kevin Chafin at the same number or email kevin@bridgingthegap.org.
Laura O'Brien, Volunteer Coordinator
Bridging The Gap - Connecting Environment, Economy, Community
816-561-1061, ext. 109
www.bridgingthegap.org
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Cockefair Lecture scheduled for October 9
While reporting and commenting on the Terri Schiavo case for Newsweek and the Fox News Channel in 2005, Eleanor Clift was caring for her dying husband.
In this lecture, Clift will describe how she handled such dual and sometimes competing roles, how one situation influenced the other, and where to draw the line between reporting on public and private dilemmas.
Clift wrote a book on her experiences, Two Weeks of Life -- A Memoir of Love, Death and Politics, which will be published in April 2008.
The lecture is scheduled for Tuesday, October 9 at 7 p.m. in Pierson Auditorium at the University of Missouri-Kansas City University Center, 50th & Rockhill Road in Kansas City, Mo. The lecture is free and reservations are required. Contact the UMKC Central Ticket Office at 816-235-6222.
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MEMORANDUM
TO: The Hard-Working People of Missouri
FR: Missouri Democratic Party
A Special Session for the Special Interests
This week, Matt Blunt has brought the legislature back to Jefferson City for a special session to pass an economic bill that does nothing to help regular Missourians, but gives away millions to the special interests and wealthy corporations. An editorial in today's Springfield News-Leader characterized it as "giving the state treasury away to people who don't really need the help."
And instead of restoring health care for some of the thousands of children who no longer have it thanks to Blunt, the Governor wants to give a $95 million tax credit to one wealthy St. Louis developer.
Blunt's bill also includes a provision that has nothing to do with economic development and everything to do with giving money to his favorite wealthy lobbyist, his brother Andy.
Matt Blunt has made a mockery of this special session by insisting that the needs of his brother's lobbying clients get put ahead of the economic interests of our state. Instead of wasting taxpayer money on a special session for special interests, Matt Blunt should put Missouri's working families first for a change.
*****
Down in the Polls and Desperate, Blunt Turns to Karl Rove GOP Handbook -- Attacks "Activist Judges"
Growing more desperate in his re-election bid, Matt Blunt is digging deeper into his "Karl Rove Republican Playbook." Article 3, Section 2 of the playbook says: If you're floundering and have no accomplishments to run on, distract the voters with baseless attacks on "activist judges."
Blunt isn't fooling anyone.
When he started attacking the Missouri Court Plan last week -- a system designed to take politics out of the judicial nomination process that other states have replicated -- everyone called Blunt out for what he his: a Governor more worried about playing politics than governing.
Springfield News-Leader: "We believe Blunt, and the many supporters of his who have been waging a war of words over the state's judicial system, are just plain wrong in their attacks. We believe the tenor of most of those attacks is politically motivated and does damage to the independence of the judicial branch of government."
Bill Graham, KC Star: "Blunt and his allies have railed against activist judges. To me, it seems more like they're trying to give an extremely conservative governor more power to appoint judges that will be activists for their causes."
Chip Robertson, former Missouri Supreme Court Justice and conservative Republican, in the KC Star: ". . . Robertson said he was incensed over the attacks on the nonpartisan court plan, which he insisted has worked well for nearly 70 years. 'We've avoided in this state all of the controversy, all of the difficulty that has attended court systems in other states that have a different method,' he said."
KC Star Editorial: "The governor himself is inappropriately contemptuous of judges in general, and also of the nationally respected process by which Missouri's statewide judges are selected."
Governor: Instead of resorting to the same old Republican playbook, how about showing some real leadership in filling the vacancy on the Missouri Supreme Court?
*****
Blunt Silent as Missouri's Economy Continues to Fall Behind
While Matt Blunt is focused on special interest giveaways and millionaire tax credits, regular Missourians are struggling to make ends meet. According to the most recent numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Missouri has lost 11,100 jobs in the past two months alone.
Add that to these sobering facts about Missouri's lagging economy:
If Missouri's economy had grown at the country's mean growth rate under the Blunt administration, 32,463 more Missourians would have jobs today.
Missouri ranks 48th in wage growth.
Missouri's unemployment rate, 4.9%, is above the national average.
Missourians are working harder, yet they're falling further behind. Regular Missourians are ready for a Governor who will start putting their needs ahead of the special interests and wealthy corporations.
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KC AFSC Peace and Justice Alerts (September 4, 2007)
Educate Yourself. Share your knowledge. Take Action!
For information about the American Friends Service Committee,
contact us at 816 931-5256 or afsckc@afsc.org
Come to the KC Iraq Task Force Monthly Meeting to build a movement to end this war and prevent the one in preparation!
Monday, September 24th at 6:30pm at the AFSC office, 4405 Gillham Rd., KCMO or call us to volunteer.
At this meeting we will begin exploring ways of moving beyond protest to creative strategic nonviolent action.
Help us build a stronger more powerful peace movement!
September 14, Friday, NO END IN SIGHT: THE AMERICAN OCCUPATION OF IRAQ. The first film of its kind to chronicle the reasons behind Iraq’s descent into guerilla war, warlord rule, criminality and anarchy, NO END IN SIGHT is a jaw-dropping, insider’s tale of wholesale incompetence, recklessness and venality. Sundance Film Festival Winner -Special Jury Prize: Documentary 2007 at the Tivoli Cinemas, Manor Square in Westport, 4050 Pennsylvania, KCMO. Call 913/ 383-7756 for show times
September 14, Friday, 7:00 PM, Kathy Kelly, peace activist and Nobel Prize nominee, will speak at at the Main Street Coffee House, 107 S Main St , Independence , MO. Kathy Kelly will report on her work with Iraqi refugees in Amman, Jordon. All are welcome. Sponsored by the group, Community of Christ Network Advocating Justice and Peace. Further information David Mason davidmason01@sbcglobal.net
September 15, Saturday, 12 noon to 1:30pm, Iraq Veterans Against the War Support GI Resistance Peace March and Rally, starting at Blue Jacket Park, W. 101st Street and Bond Street, Overland Park, KS (2 blocks east of Quivira) marching to Sen. Bronwback’s office around Oak Park Mall
September 16, Sunday, 7:30 p.m. Kathy Kelly- The Consequences of War, Saint Francis Xavier Church, 1001 East 52 Street (52nd & Troost), KCMO, 816-523-5115
September 21, Friday, 1:00 P.M., International Day of Peace Observance by members of Community of Christ Network Advocating Justice and Peace during the daily Prayer for Peace at the Community of Christ Temple, 1001 W. Walnut [River and Walnut], Independence, MO.
October 26-28, Third, the Community of Christ annual Peace Colloquy, will feature the presentation of the International Peace Award Friday, October 26, 7:30 P.M. to Virgilio Elizondo, father of the U.S. Hispanic Theology, professor at University of Notre Dame, and priest/pastor from San Antonio; and to Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the National Farm Workers Union. Workshops covering achieving personal peace, community peace activities and national/international peace movements will be held on Saturday and Sunday. For more details and registration, go to http://www.cofchrist.org/peacecolloquy/
September 24th, Monday, 6:30pm, KC Iraq Task Force Meeting to implement plans from our strategic meeting bringing our message out to people, exposing the economic costs of the war and the war profiteering which continues to support it. AFSC office, 4405 Gillham Rd., KCMO.
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EVERY Sunday: Iraq Peace Vigil, 4pm, JC Nichols Fountain, 47th & Main, Streets, Kansas City, MO http://www.kciraqtaskforce.org/
EVERY Tuesday, JOIN THIS Peace Demonstration Every Tuesday between 5PM - 6 PM in the median strip on the south corner of the intersection at 63rd & Ward Parkway, Kansas City, Mo. For more information email '63rd Street Patriots' at schwartzkatz@sbcglobal.net
Every Wednesday, 5:00pm, Iraq Anti-War Protest, College and Quivira, Overland Park, KS (NW corner). Send a message to Sen. Pat Robert that it’s time to end the war!
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SAVE THE DATE!
25TH ANNIVERSARY DINNER AND CELEBRATION of GLOBAL AND MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION CENTER
PRINCESS GARDENS, 8906 WORNALL ROAD
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13 2007, 6:00-8:00 P.M.
Our celebration begins at 6:00 with a reception and dinner.
Service awards will be presented!
International trivia game with prizes!
Watch for your invitation‹Invite your friends of all ages.
Questions? Want to make your reservation now?
<
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Kathy Kelly
The Consequences of War
Sunday Sept. 16, 2007, 7:30 p.m.
Saint Francis Xavier Church
1001 East 52 Street (52nd & Troost)
Kansas City, MO 64110
816-523-5115
Kathy Kelly, long-time peace activist and member of a Catholic Worker Community in Chicago, will report on the consequences of war that she has witnessed in Amman, Jordan, where she recently spent two months among the large and growing community of Iraqis who have fled the violence in their country.
Her talk will focus on the consequences of war for displaced Iraqis, for Americans who suffer neglect because of a bloated military budget and for the planet when we fail to address major environmental problems in part because inordinate resources go toward military pursuits.
Her talk will include an invitation to engage in a sustained campaign of resistance.
Recent articles she has written from Jordan can be found at the Voices website at www.vcnv.org.
This lecture is the first of a series of events planned at St. Francis throughout the coming year on the topics of nonviolence and peacemaking
Sponsored by the SFX Adult Education Committee
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Support GI Resistance
Peace March and Rally
September 15th, Saturday
Hello everyone, This is Mike Sanger President of the Iraq Veterans Against the War KC chapter. We are coming on two weeks before our BIG antiwar protest. This is it, it is up to all of us to put the word out there. I have been doing this myself as much as I can mostly in the surrounding colleges. Talk to people, pass out flyer's and forward this e-mail to everyone in your contact list. NOW IS YOUR CHANCE TO FINALLY DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS. Don't let anymore of our loved ones die in Iraq for what is now being viewed as a crime against humanity.
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Support GI Resistance
Peace March and Rally
September 15th, Saturday
Moving America
from the Mall to Ending the Iraq War
Location:
Gathering Rally: 12 noon to 12:30 Blue Jacket Park, W. 101 and Bond Street, Overland Park, KS (2 blocks east of Quivira)
March & Rally: 12:30pm to 1:30pm
to Sen. Bronwback’s office around Oak Park Mall (approx. ½ miles)
Organized by:
Iraq Veterans Against the War, Kansas City chapter
with KC Iraq Task Force, and KS Mutual Aide
“The best way to support the troops is to end the war and bring them home NOW!”
(Michael Sanger, IVAW Kansas City chapter President)
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Tell Congress to
Stop the March to War with Iran
Contact your Representatives today and demand action!
President Bush announced today that he has authorized US forces in Iraq to confront Iran militarily. "I have authorized our military commanders in Iraq to confront Tehran's murderous activities," Bush said in a speech to US war veterans in Reno. Simultaneously, US forces raided a hotel in Baghdad and detained ten Iranians who according to a U.S.-funded radio station included members of an Iranian negotiation team.
This move comes amidst a campaign by the White House to escalate the rhetorical war between Washington and Tehran, in which the President has taken concerted new steps toward war. This flurry of rhetoric has largely rung hollow in the halls of Congress, as members are away for summer recess.
While Congress has been gone, the harshness and frequency of the rhetoric from both sides has steadily increased. Last week the Bush administration announced its intention to designate the IRGC as a terrorist entity, an unprecedented move. This week in Reno, the President reiterated accusations that Iran was smuggling weapons into Iraq while chastising the Iraqi prime minister for his diplomatic relations with Iran. Left unchallenged, all these steps point in one, undeniable direction: War.
The recent moves follow a familiar pattern. In January 2007, the President accused Iran of supplying IED's to Iraqi insurgents, signaling his intention to use military force to attack Iran. Simultaneously, US forces detained five Iranians at an Iranian consulate in the Iraqi city of Irbil. Congress successfully averted crisis through swift and strong reactions to the escalated rhetoric. Congress took immediate action by challenging the President to provide evidence for the claims.
Now, as the White House is once again escalating tensions, Congress must act to prevent war from occurring.
Write a letter to your lawmakers today urging them to take immediate action. Tell your representative to prevent the march towards war!
National Iranian-American Council
http://capwiz.com/niacouncil/issues/alert/?alertid=10237066
Take Action Now!
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We need your support to keep our life affirming peacemaking work alive.
Contribute. Volunteer. Spread the word!
Contact us and mail your tax deductible contribution to:
American Friends Service Committee
4405 Gillham Rd., KCMO 64110
(816) 931-5256
Ira Harritt
Kansas City Program
American Friends Service Committee
4405 Gillham Rd., KCMO 64110
(816) 931-5256
Fax (816) 561-5033
# posted by Blue Hearts @ 10:39 AM 
