Dear friends, I got the message below from the war tax resisters (WTR) listserv, which I subscribe to.
FYI, WTR or "peace taxpaying" is when people redirect all or part of what one would have paid in income taxes (sometimes this involves other taxes, too, like the telephone tax) to peaceful, nonmilitary use. This is currently not legal, but there has been a 20+ year lobbying effort to make this legal. I am sending this message to you in the thought that you might be able to help... all the best, from an unseasonably warm (thus far) Moscow, raffi aftandelian [THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT INITIATIVE from a Veteran of Desert Storm that is taking off and building steam. Do NOT reply to this message: please send all info, inquiries etc. to our good friend James Madison at [email protected]] Friends: Are you opposed to the war and want to do something about it? How about something that is *already* getting *national* media attention? Read on! BACKGROUND: - Bush has called for Vets to speak at schools from 11/11-11/17, naturally from a pro-war stance. - We, the peace-loving vets, are turning his goal around by coordinating anti-war vets to speak that week. - Our goal is to build a network by e-mail, publicize it widely, and thus thwart the pro-war thunder. - We are seeking both vets who are willing to speak, and coordinators to arrange for them to speak. ACCOMPLISHMENTS TO DATE: In just 3 days: - We accumulated over 2 dozen speakers and coordinators in 10 states. - We were contacted by the Associated Press! (More on this in a minute). - We had offers to forward this idea to *tens of thousands* of anti-war folks if the idea took off--well, it's taking off, and may soon explode! In short, we have the seeds of a hastily-formed, and highly-effective movement. But we need your help to really make it grow. WHAT YOU CAN DO: - Are you a vet against the war? We need you to volunteer to address student groups from 11/11 to 11/17. Even if you can only make 1 hour on 1 day, that helps! Contact James Madison at [email protected] immediately with a brief description of your military background. - Will you coordinate a vet at your local school? Whether you're a teacher who wants the anti-war perspective for your class, or a concerned citizen who wants an anti-war vet in your local school, you can help here. Contact James Madison at [email protected] with the name of the school(s) you are willing to coordinate. - Just stay in touch with this effort. Send a message to James Madison at [email protected] and I'll put you on the e-mail list even if you don't want to coordinate or speak. - CIRCULATE THIS MESSAGE. We need to make this movement grow! I told you before that the AP contacted me. But I haven't done an interview yet. Imagine that if instead of dozens of speakers/ coordinators in just 10 states, it was hundreds-- or THOUSANDS in 25, 35, 50 states! Let's make effort big, so we can knock their socks off! THE LIST: Below is the list of vets to speak and those who will coordinate. (Note that if you're a vet, you can coordinate yourself too!, but spreading the work makes for greater success). I will be maintaining this list and circulating it every few days, if not every day, from now until 11/17. If you have volunteered, make sure your name is on the list. If you see someone you want to work with, let me know and I'll give you their e-mail address/phone number so you can work with them directly. I have all the contact information, but don't want to circulate it in this message for the privacy and security of those involved. YOU!: Back to the most important thing: we need *you* to grow this list and this effort. This is a great thing you can do against the war. It doesn't take much time, your commitment will clearly end on 11/17, yet it could get enormous nationwide publicity. Send this message far and wide. Our success is up to you! Thanks! James Madison (Yes, that really is my name!) Desert Storm Veteran Marine Corps, 87-91 P.S. The Associated Press contacting us is not enough--I want to contact *every* major media outlet. You can help. Do you know the FAX number of the press room for any major media outlet? Can you find out? If so, send it to me ([email protected]). I already have 95 media FAX numbers for my state of CT, but we want this effort to go national in a big way! CA: -------------------------------- Speak: Glen Motil, Marines, Desert Storm Place: San Diego Area Speak: Howard Johnson, Army Place: Los Angeles Area CT: -------------------------------- Speak: Mitzi Bowman, Air Force, WWII Place: Greater New Haven Coord: Gabriela Campos Place: Central CT State U, New Britain Speak: Walter Hrozenchik, Navy, Korea Place: Greater Danbury Coord: Sarah Kotler Place: Ethel Walker School, Simsbury Speak: Vittorio Lancia, TBD, TBD Place: Portland Area Speak: Regina Day Langhout, Navy, Desert Storm Place: Middletown Area, not Middletown itself Speak: James Madison, Marines, Desert Storm Place: Hartford / Middletown / New Haven Areas Speak: Alfred Marder, Army, WWII, Bronze Star Place: Greater New Haven Coord: Marya Place: New London, Norwich, Stonington MA: -------------------------------- Speak: Tom Gale, Marines, Vietnam Place: Beverly, Salem, Peabody, Danvers, Hamilton-Wenham Coord: James Ricciato Place: Boston College MD: -------------------------------- Speak: Dan Jacobson, Army, Vietnam Place: Montgomery County OH: -------------------------------- Coord: Jason Johnston Place: Oberlin College GA: -------------------------------- Speak: Kevin Warner, Army, Korea Place: Metro Atlanta Coord: Place: KS: -------------------------------- Coord: Janette Schwartzburg Place: Lawrence High School, Lawrence NY: -------------------------------- Coord: Gloria Bletter Place: NYC Coord: Dermot Dix Place: Dalton School Coord: Bill K. Place: NYC Coord: Daniel Jerome Place: Banana Kelly High School PA: -------------------------------- Speak: John Vandenberg, Navy, Desert Storm Place: Greater Philly SC: -------------------------------- Coord: Jerise Fogel Place: Columbia University * * ========================================================== [email protected] ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of [email protected], Visit: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html
