National IMPEACH Day!

CodePink Memphis joined with Veterans for Peace and MoveOn members at the corner of Poplar and Highland for a rally for impeachment. Terri, Mary, Kara, Kevin, Catherine (and her mom), Kelly, and Jane were joined by new members Edwina, Sherry, and Chrissy (who saw us and stopped to join, welcome!). We held signs with big pink letters that spelled IMPEACH! Jane lead us on the drum as we crossed back and forth across Poplar and Highland with our signs reminiscent of Abbey Road pictures. The reception was largely positive, with one produce truck stopping and giving the protester's fruit for refreshments. Thanks Herbies Produce! The few negative gestures were met with Kara's whooping, cheerleader-like splits in the air, and a peace sign (love her energy). As members had to leave for other engagements, we recruited kids and other protesters to help carry the signs. It was a great day. Look for our pictures to be posted on CodePink Central's website under "Local Spotlights" in the next several days.

Toy Soldiers

CodePink, Central, has created a great piece about the human beings that make up our armed forces. Our country needs to see these men and women as flesh and blood so that maybe they will question the senseless loss of their lives.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vc1ARRgbRN0

Dear Mr. President

The singer Pink has a song that has very moving lyrics, that reflect, I think, the reasons we all are fed up with the Bush Administration. This is our country, our reputation in the world as to what Americans are all about. It is time to let our cities, states, country, and the world know, that We the People are not about greed, war, and intolerance. Get involved!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jm5AO4S04r4

Get Involved

The link is to a blog written by a good friend of mine, Linda Milazzo. She is a woman we all should pattern ourselves after in working to make a change in the world. I found her words profoundly accurate and while it was discouraging to read about the apathy of Americans, it furthered my desire to try to make a difference and to try to help the peace movement grow. We have no room to complain with words of disdain about what is going wrong with our government, country, and world, if we can't make time in our lives to get out and try to make a difference.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/linda-milazzo/an-inconvenient-responsib_b_41521.html

Dept. of Education Responds

Much to their credit, a representative from the Department of Education called me the morning after I sent my email to Undersecretary Briggs. Jack McGrath, a 34 year civil servant in the Dept. of Education called to let me know that I was, indeed, correct in that the NCLB does include in it's law, the requirement for secondary schools to provide private information on it's students. He said he did not know why contrary information was given to me at the Collierville Town Hall Meeting.

We discussed, at some length, problems with NCLB and he was very helpful in giving me current information on what was going on with his branch, privacy issues, with NCLB. He told me he had , "some news that I think you will like", pertaining to the renewal of NCLB related to military recruiters. The bill, HR 1346, was written by Rep. Honda, of California. It requires an "opt in" by parents to allow recruiters access to their children's directory information, as opposed to the "opt out" policy that is in place now. Rep. Steve Cohen, TN is a co-signer as well as George Miller of CA, who happens to head the committe on Education and Labor relations, meaning the bill has a great chance of being approved for vote by the House.

This is one are of NCLB that needs to be, and is trying to be, fixed. Call your representatives to tell them we want HR 1346 to be approved. Talk to your kids educators, if they attend public school, and ask them how NCLB is working for them. Making a change for good in the education of children, will give them a chance at a life out of poverty and desperation. Nothing BUT good can come of that.

CodePink Memphis & Dept. of Education

Brava, to Nancy Bailey, Kara Freeman, and Terri Rice for going up against the Department of Education over the No Child Left Behind Act in Collierville, on April 10th. Nancy passed out leaflets, covering the problems with NCLB while Terri and Kara wore the pink, holding signs that read, "At Least Bush is Winning the War on Education" and "Education is Not Memorization" and "Books Not Bombs". In the meeting, they caught the Undersecretary of Education, Keri Briggs, and the local staff of Rep. Marsha Blackburn off guard, with pointed questions on NCLB. Terri raised the question of the necessity of including in NCLB, the requirement of high schools to make available private information on all Junior and Senior students to military recruiters. Ms. Briggs and Rep. Blackburn's staff was quick to respond, that NCLB did no such thing, but it was required under the legislation from 1965 (ESEA).

Here is the response, by email, to Ms. Briggs on the matter:

Dear Ms. Briggs,

I'd like to thank you for attending the Collierville, TN Town Hall Meeting and give us a chance to express our concerns with NCLB.

I'm writing you, so that you can hopefully clarify a question I had and the answer that was given to me by you and Marsha Blackburn's staff. My question was pertaining to the inclusion in the NCLB requiring high schools to provide military recruiters with the personal information of all Junior and Senior High School students. The way I understood the answer that was given to me, was that it was not included, but was under another piece of legislation, the ESEA, from 1965.

I did some digging on the Dept. of Education website today, because I have always understood the requirement to be part of NCLB. I found a letter from Donald Rumsfeld and then Secretary of Education, Rod Paige. I have attached that letter, dated October 9, 2002, in which is states, "Recognizing the challenges faced by military recruiters, Congress recently passed legislation that requires high schools to provide military recruiters, upon request, access to secondary students and directory information on those students. Both the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002 reflect these requirements." They, Rumsfeld and Paige, then go on to discuss the enclosed guidelines for "compliance with the new laws."

This seems to me to indicate that it is indeed a requirement of NCLB to inform military recruiters, contrary to the information given to me by you, and Marsha Blackburn's staff on April 10, 2007, in Collierville, TN.

I would appreciate your response in this matter to clear up my obvious confusion with two contradictory bits of information coming out of the Department of Education.

I'm sending this to my district's congressman as well, Rep. Steve Cohen, so that he can also be aware of, and possibly assist me in, this matter.

Sincerely,

Teresa Rice

This is the way in which the government and it's officials are misleading the public on many different matters from Education, to War, to the Environment. It is up to us to stand up and be heard, to require accountability and answers.

As an interesting side note, Undersecretary of Education, Briggs grew up in Midland, TX and Secretary of Education, Spelling's husband was responsible to assisting "W" out of his military responsibilities during the Vietnam War.

Honk for Peace Report

April 4th marked the 39th anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King, Jr. in Memphis, TN and to honor his legacy of Peace, CodePink Memphis hosted a Honk for Peace on a pedestrian walkway over Sam Cooper Blvd during rush hour. Peace banners were hung and the pink was on. It was heartening to hear the cars beep, ambulance and police sirens, and truck horns blaring, all in support of peace. Thanks goes out to everyone who showed up, you were great! It was good to have the two students from White Station High School there supporting the Peace movement. Two ladies in pink biked over to the overpass in bright pink prom dresses, looking like fuschia Statues of Liberty on wheels! It was a great afternoon!

April 4, 2007 Honk for Peace

Naomi and I were looking for a date for an April Honk for Peace event and decided on April 4th. It was a random date that was selected, worked for her, worked for me. Then, I received an email from Naomi with this bit of historical information.

And here's a little food for thought, 39 years ago on April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King was killed in Memphis. Forty year ago on April 4, 1967, King said these words:

"Even when pressed by the demands of inner truth, men do not easily assume the task of opposing their government's policy, especially in time of war. Nor does the human spirit move without great difficulty against all the apathy of conformist thought within one's own bosom and in the surrounding world. Moreover, when the issues at hand seem as perplexed as they often do in the case of this dreadful conflict [Vietnam War], we are always on the verge of being mesmerized by uncertainty; but we must move on.

We must move past indecision to action. We must find new ways to speak for peace in Vietnam and justice throughout the developing world, a world that borders on our doors. If we do not act, we shall surely be dragged down the long, dark, and shameful corridors of time reserved for those who possess power without compassion, might without morality, and strength without sight."

My daughter was home for spring break this last week from the University of Hawai'i. It was easy to get lost in our family life, cooking out, going to movies, shopping together, having friends over. Those things are important and should be cherished and valued. But I found it so easy to release the responsibility of what I know I need to do to try to change this world for Peace. It is easy to get up and make excuses on why I can't get involved today. But what I realize is that we have to make Peacework part of our daily life, not a hobby or extracurricular event. Studies show that parents who make exercise and physical activities a part of family life, have children that grow up to be healthier and more active than their peers who were not exposed to that kind of family lifestyle. What if we all made working for peace part of our daily family life?

I hope you can find the time to come out and help us at any of our events. Please consider coming to the House Party on April 14th (see event schedule). There is something everyone can do, regardless of how much or little free time they have. Let's all make this part of our daily life. As Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."