David Rovics Spring Tour Schedule

David Rovics writes . . . I know many of you don't live anywhere near New Orleans or Vancouver, but I thought I'd send my upcoming tour schedule to everybody on my list in North America anyway, in case you might be one of those good folks willing to spread the word about all or part of the tour... Word of mouth can be great when it works! When it doesn't (and it often doesn't), I can end up with some very badly-attended gigs... So I'd really like to encourage you to consider spreading the word about some of these shows if you know people in any of these places, if you're up for it. People taking this kind of initiative is really what makes these tours work (or not). And tell your friends that I promise to lift their spirits in these difficult times, not just depress them with stories of death and destruction...!

The tour schedule is below. There are a few details missing which will be filled in soon on the "gigs" page at www.davidrovics.com, where you can always find the most up-to-date information on my tours. The tour will take me to New Orleans, Houston and elsewhere in Texas, Oklahoma City, all over New Mexico, all over Colorado, Utah, northern California, southern Oregon and Vancouver, BC.

Starting in late April it looks like I will be based out of Portland, Oregon, where my baby daughter and her lovely mother will be living. We're looking for housing (both temporary and longer-term) and to hook up with more people out there, especially other parents of young children, enthusiastic babysitters, etc. I'm also seriously thinking about forming a band that'd be based out there, if you know people who play bass, drums, banjo, fiddle, etc., who might be interested in the idea...

And if you're wondering about my latest essay, I didn't find the time yet to send it to my list, but you can find it at www.truthout.org. Just search for my name there. It's called "The Battle for Ungdomshuset." More such articles will be forthcoming when I have time to write, though lately between a very busy east coast tour and hanging out with a very active baby in between, free time has been nonexistent...!

Anyway, here's the tour schedule. Again, please feel free to spread the word far and wide, call your friends, post to relevant email lists and websites, etc. Remember, artists like me are completely locked out of the mass media in the US, so if anybody is going to come to these shows it's probably going to be because people like you took the time to tell folks about them in advance...! People can find additional info about the shows, such as websites and emails and such, on the "gigs" page at www.davidrovics.com...
Sunday, March 25th, 12:30 pm
1370 N. Millbend Dr. Room 10
The Woodlands, TX
For information call Ryan Hoffland 281-298-2780 or 281-350-3052

Friday, March 30th
Lupin Theater
Tulane University
New Orleans, LA

Saturday, March 31st, 4 pm
The Progressive Center
413 Waco Street
Corpus Christi, TX

Sunday, April 1st, 7:30 pm
The Artery
5401 Jackson at Prospect (enter on Prospect)
Houston, TX
With the Prince Myshkins!


Tuesday, April 3rd, 7:30 pm
Blue Moon
2916-C Paseo Dr.
Oklahoma City, OK

Wednesday, April 4th
Peace & Justice Center
Albuquerque, NM

Thursday, April 5th
Santa Fe, NM -- details TBA

Friday, April 6th
Vital Arts Gallery
423 Grand Ave.
Las Vegas, NM

Saturday, April 7th, 7:30 pm
Hatties
225 F St.
Salida, CO

Sunday, April 8th
Oriental Theatre
44th and Tennyson
Denver, CO

Monday, April 9th, 7:30 pm
Gill Foundation Community Room
315 E. Costilla
Colorado Springs, CO

Tuesday, April 10th
Center for Creative Expression
5378 Sterling Drive
Boulder, CO

Thursday, April 12th, 7 pm
Social and Behavioral Sciences Auditorium
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, UT

Friday, April 13th, 6 pm
Free Speech Zone
2144 South Highland Dr.
Salt Lake City, UT
RSVP 801-631-2998 or info@utahpeace.org

Saturday, April 14th, 7 pm
Crescent Moon Theater
150 S. 100 East
Kanab, UT

Monday, April 16th
San Francisco area -- details TBA

Tuesday, April 17th, 7:30 pm
New College
99 6th St.
Santa Rosa, CA

Wednesday, April 18th, 7 pm
Caspar Community Center
Caspar, CA

Thursday, April 19th
Clay Street House Concert
Ukiah, CA
Pot luck dinner at 6 and music at 7
Email John McCowen at mccowen@pacific.net or call 707-462-3210 for directions

Friday, April 20th
The Grange
Ashland, OR
Double-bill with me and Patrick Dodd!

Saturday, April 21st
The Dome School
Takilma, OR
Double-bill with me and Patrick Dodd!

Wednesday, April 25th, 9:30 pm
Railway Club
579 Dunsmuir Street
Vancouver, BC
With Joey Only!

Thursday, April 26th, 7 pm
Palestinian Community Center
Vancouver, BC

Saturday, April 28th
Atlanta, GA -- details TBA

April 29th I'm off to Europe to tour Scandinavia, Germany, Holland and probably Switzerland too... (Come to the G8 protests in Germany in early June if you can make it!)

DRovics@aol.com
DRovics@gmail.com
(617) 872-5124
P.O. Box 300995
Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

www.davidrovics.com

Nashville: Weekly Peace Vigil

Joyce Kisner writes . . . Before I landed here via Katrina a group of us in New Orleans had started to meet for a weekly vigil against the war and FOR peace and justice in our world. Sometimes there was one of us - sometimes many more. We would light candles, sometimes have a portable CD player with some music, sometimes read the names of those soldiers killed in the Iraq War, sometimes read a poem or narrative that we found, make signs together...etc. And then Katrina hit.

When I attended the yearly vigil last week I was reminded of the
commitment a group of us in New Orleans had made and I realized it was
important to me to start doing that once again. And so last Monday I went on
over to the corner of 14th and Eastland with some candles and my sign from
the peace march ("Support Our Troops. Bring Them Home Now. Fund their Care,
Not Their Coffins"). A gentleman by the name of Del was also there and we
decided we will meet each week on Mondays at 6:30pm...no end date set but
certainly until the war has ended.

We'd love for more to join us at that corner or at that same time at any
corner of their preference. Wouldn't it be cool if throughout Nashville on
Monday nights a growing number of vigils were happening on corners around
the city? Hey, why not throughout the state...even throughout the country!

The Latest Saga in U.S. Foreign Policy

George “Orwell” Bush is fond of talking about supporting democracy in Iraq and around the world, but according to a page one story in The New York Times (March 14, 2003) Saddam Hussein and his Baath party were put into power by the U.S. in 1963 in a secret bloody coup that was organized and paid for by the CIA. Our puppet Saddam was then supported and financed by the next 5 American presidents. Instead of treating others like we would want to be treated, the sad truth is that for the past 50 years, U.S. governments lead by both Democrats and Republicans have supported brutal and undemocratic regimes all over the world, in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt, Vietnam, Chile, Indonesia, the Congo, the Philippines, Pakistan, Iran, and Iraq – to name a few - in order to serve the financial interests of multinational corporations.


Given the bewildering array of scandals that are now confronting Bush, it should be no surprise that he is now planning to shift the headlines to a new war with Iran. But here again, few Americans are aware of the CIA’s secret role in organizing a military coup in Iran, detailed in The New York Times (April 16, 2000), which ousted Dr. Mohammad Mosaddeg, the popular and democratically-elected prime minister of Iran in 1953, and installed another brutal puppet dictator, Shah Reza Pahlavi.

Dr. Mohammed Mosaddeg

Dr. Mosaddeg was a highly educated man who received a Ph.D. in Law from the University of Neuchatel in Switzerland, and was Time Magazine’s Man of the Year in 1951 when he was elected as Prime Minister. But Mosaddeg was opposed to the foreign intervention in Iran by Britain’s oil companies, and although he attempted to negotiate with what is now British Petroleum (BP) for higher oil royalties, BP refused. Dr. Mosaddeg then brought the matter to the Iranian Parliament, which voted to nationalize the Iranian oil industry. The government of Britain responded with a naval blockade of Iran, which prevented Iran from selling its oil to anyone else, and soon the British MI6 Secret Service and the CIA financed and organized a coup (Operation Ajax) to remove Mosaddeg from power. The overthrow of Mosaddeg was a rallying point in the 1979 revolution that drove the American-installed Shaw from power, yet none of the American television news networks have told the American people the truth about what really happened in Iran – or Iraq.

The only way to end the corporate control of our government is to pass the Democracy Amendment to transform American from being a Republic (i.e., rule by the tiny few) to a real Democracy. Please contact your friends and family to encourage them to listen and call in to the Harry Braun Internet Radio Show, which can be accessed on the HarryBraunShow.com website. Our only hope is to make enough people aware of this “Transition of Substance” while there is still time to make a difference.

The program is aired nationwide on the internet
Sundays, 12 pm to 1 pm EST / 9 am to 10 am PST

Call toll free:
1-800-259-9231
to make your voice heard on this historic
“Transition of Substance”

Oak Ridge: Comments Due April 4th

The Global Nuclear Energy Partnership is the Bush administration and the U.S. Department of Energy's deeply flawed plan to address global warming by resuscitating nuclear power plants world-wide. They make it sound so easy. All it will take is billions of your (taxpayers') money.


The proposal calls for the development of three new nuclear facilities to be sited at 11 possible locations in the U. S. Two potential sites, Oak Ridge and Paducah, are of local concern. The first new technology to be developed is a nuclear waste reprocessing plant. The second is a fast neutron reactor. The third is a nuclear fuels research facility. The total cost to reprocess the estimated lifetime discharges of current U.S. light water reactors by this process and to build the estimated 50 fast reactors to use the reprocessed fuel is estimated to be $250 Billion.

GNEP is big on vision but short on specifics, according to an August 7, 2006 article in Nuclear Engineering International. It is being touted as "a bold new approach toward the global nuclear economy, aimed at attacking the dangers of proliferation and significantly reducing the nuclear waste problem." Clay Sell, Deputy Secretary of Energy, claims that GNEP will "enhance the expansion of nuclear power worldwide."

This project was originally conceived as a smaller sized demonstration plant, however the DOE has decided to skip that step and "fast track" the first two components of the experiment, moving directly to "commercial sized" before fully testing the process. Many unresolved questions remain concerning GNEP and nuclear power. Plans call for large quantities of nuclear waste to be transported to the facility from around the world. The waste would be ground up, liquefied, and separated into its components, including plutonium. Reprocessing is inherently expensive, dirty, and dangerous. Just ask the citizens around West Valley, New York where a plant that closed in 1972 has a mounting clean-up bill of over five billion of your tax dollars. The recovered plutonium, which is easily used to create nuclear weapons, would be burned in the fast reactor to generate electricity. This technology dramatically increases plutonium's quantity and utility as bomb material. Plus, we still have no long term nuclear waste storage facility. DOE's proposed geologic repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada will receive no waste for many years to come, if ever. Projected cost estimates range from 44 to 58 billion dollars, still more of our tax dollars.

GNEP is a desperate, ill-conceived and deliberately misleading government funded attempt to revive the fading nuclear power industry under the guise of addressing the climate change crisis, nuclear weapons proliferation, and solve the nuclear waste crisis. Nuclear power's high cost and risk make it untenable on the private capital market.

Huge federal subsidies for nuclear power limit private and public investment in more cost-effective alternatives like cogeneration, renewables, efficiency, and hydrogen fuel cells. We need to focus on developing a safe, clean, sustainable energy future, not condemning future generations to live with increasing stockpiles of nuclear waste which will remain deadly for centuries.

DOE is seeking public comment on this proposal. Voice your concerns at the public meeting at the Executive Inn Riverfront in Paducah, KY on March 6 from 6 to 9:30 pm. Or you can email comments to GNEP-PEIS@nuclear.energy.gov; fax comments to 866-645-7807 by April 4, 2007. Comments can also be mailed to:



Mr. Timothy A. Frazier

GNEP Draft PEIS Document Manager

Office of Nuclear Energy

U.S. Department of Energy

1000 Independence Avenue, SW

Washington, DC 20585-0119



Be sure to copy your Representative, Senators, and the President.



More government information can be found at: www.GNEP.+.GOV.



To find out more of the rest of the story check out these web-sites and articles:



www.nirs.org/home.htm



www.citizen.org/cmep/



www.fas.org/ssp/fc/



www.armscontrol.org/act/2005_09/



www.rmi.org/



www.fissilematerials.org/



www.ucsusa.org





Don Safer

Tennessee Environmental Council

615 248 6500

www.tectn.org

Nashville: White's Creek Cleanup March 31st

Help beautify our creek at the…White's Creek Cleanup on Saturday, March 31, 2007 9:00a.m. Meet at the Nashville Nursery on Ashland City Hwy. Snacks and supplies provided. If possible, bring soil rakes, shovels, reaching tools, plastic gloves, your boat, drinking water, your friends, or just yourself. For more information, call Michelle at (615) 876-8865.


Directions: Take I-65 North to I -24 West. Exit at Briley Parkway West. Continue to Ashland City Hwy. Head East & go 1.5 miles. The nursery is immediately past the bridge over Whites Creek. Turn right into the 2nd driveway for the nursery, and follow signs out thru the back gate, over RR tracks, and into big parking field. RAIN Date will be April 7, 2007. Call if there’s a weather question. This is ^1/2 mile from the Bordeaux YMCA.

Sponsored by: Whites Creek Preservation Society, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, Bordeaux – Whites Creek Greenway Alliance, & Metro Beautification.

This Week on Avalon Farmcast

Valerie Reynolds writes . . . On this week's podcast I take on the issue of Marriage Equality in the U.S. and profile a great advocate on the subject: Evan Wolfson lawyer, author,and founder of "Freedom To Marry" a non-profit organization with the website at www.freedomtomarry.org


I also share with you through my own thoughts and music why this issue is important to me and my family. If you would like to share your story too please contact me. As Evan says, more dialog and more stories from us is what is needed to change the tide of discrimination in this country. As my favorite T-Shirt says: "Speak out-Even if Your Voice Shakes"

http://www.avalonfarmcast.com
http://avalonfarmblog.wordpress.com

Jeff Cohen to Speak in Hunstville April 13th

Author, lecturer and media critic Jeff Cohen comes to Huntsville to share engaging stories about his misadventures in the corporate media. Jeff worked with three major news outlets (CNN, MSNBC, Fox News) that are, quite frankly, letting Americans down. They ignore many key issues, don't investigate the facts, and frequently air "fluff" stories to fill their time. Jeff has some very enlightening and entertaining stories to tell. A book signing will follow the presentation. (Books will be available for purchase at this event.)

Event Sponsors/Endorsers (so far): North Alabama Media Reform; UAH Communication Arts Department; Peace and Democracy; UAH Office of International Programs; Madison County Democratic Women's Division; North Alabama Green Party; Alabama A&M University Department of English, Foreign Language and Telecommunications ... others announced soon!

"My Misadventures in Corporate Media"
Friday, April 13, 2007 @ 7 PMRoberts Hall,
UAH campusAdmission: FREE, open to the public

More info http://www.northalabamamediareform.org/ or 256-489-3884


=======================
About Jeff Cohen . . .

Jeff Cohen is a well-known writer, lecturer and media critic who founded the media watch group, FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting) in 1986.

He is author of five books and his latest, “Cable News Confidential: My Misadventures in Corporate Media,” was published in 2006. This book dissects the cable news channels and finds serious failures in how they cover the most urgent issues of the day. Jeff has the personal experience to tell us what it's like. He was a senior producer on "Donahue" and on-air commentator at MSNBC in 2002-2003; a weekly "News Watch" panelist on Fox News Channel from 1997-2002; and a co-host of CNN's "Crossfire" in 1996. He has been quoted on issues of media and politics in such publications as the New York Times, Washington Post and TV Guide, and his columns have appeared in such dailies as USA Today, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe and Miami Herald. For four years, he co-wrote the weekly, nationally syndicated Media Beat column with Norman Soloman for Creators Syndicate.

Jeff's prior books include Wizards of Media Oz: Behind the Curtain of Mainstream News (1997); Through the Media Looking Glass: Decoding Bias and Blather in the News (1995); The Way Things Aren't: Rush Limbaugh's Reign of Error (1995); and Adventures in Medialand: Behind the News, Beyond the Pundits (1993).

Prior to launching FAIR, Jeff worked in Los Angeles as a journalist, and as a lawyer for the ACLU. His investigative articles ran in Rolling Stone, New Times, Mother Jones and other publications. He was a board member of several public interest groups, including the ACLU of Southern California and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference/L.A. Jeff did undergraduate work at the University of Michigan and did his legal studies at the Peoples College of Law in Los Angeles. He became a member of the California Bar in 1981.

More information is available on his website http://www.jeffcohen.org/ including articles and interviews.

Spring Wildflower Hikes at Sequatchie Valley

Saturday, Mar. 31 and April 14 – Spring Wildflower Hikes
at Sequatchie Valley Institute. Naturalist-led walks begin at
11 am Central time. Tours of the homes and gardens, a craft
gallery, a tractor hayride and picnicking will be available before and
after the hike. All ages welcome, no pets please. Donation of $5
accepted. SVI is located midway between Dunlap and Whitwell,
just off Rte. 28 in the beautiful Sequatchie Valley.
Contact: 949-5922, Carol-Kimmons@utc.edu, or see SVIonline.org.
Please call for directions and to confirm your participation.


FURTHER INFORMATION:
Come out and enjoy springtime in the beautiful Sequatchie
Valley. We are only an hour from Chattanooga by car, but an
infinite distance in peace and quiet with the opportunity to
enjoy
the natural world, hike on trails in a pristine forest, and
experience our sustainable lifestyle. Plan to visit Como Se
Llama
Gallery at SVI to shop for exquisite handmade art and crafts
produced by our staff. Specially selected books and CD’s
are
also available. All sales benefit our non-profit
programming.
For more information call (423) 949-5922 or go to
svionline.org.

LONGER VERSION:
Come and join the Sequatchie Valley Institute staff and
friends
and the ragwort, dwarf buckeye, phlox, bloodroot, trout
lily,
trilliums, wild geranium, dogwoods, redbuds, and more in the
beautiful Sequatchie Valley for two spring wildflower hikes,
on
Saturday, March 31, and April 14. Expert naturalists will
accompany both hikes. We will begin hiking at 11 am Central
time. There will be a choice of a long, strenuous hike deep
into
the Gulf, or a shorter, more relaxed walk. Plan to take
lots of
picture! You are welcome to come early to visit our
gardens,
hand-crafted homes, and crafts gallery, which will be open
for
purchases of fine nature-based crafts produced by our staff,
and
specialty books. If you wish, you may bring a picnic lunch
to eat
at one of our beautiful picnic areas in the woods. A
tractor-
pulled hayride will be available. A donation of $5 will be
used
for our non-profit educational programs. For directions to
SVI,
which is located in the Cartwright community just off Hwy 28
half-way between Dunlap and Whitwell, one hour from
Chattanooga, or for more information, contact us at
423-949-5922, or email Carol-kimmons@utc.edu. Also see
SVIonline.org.

Sequatchie Valley Institute is a nonprofit organization
whose
mission is to offer society an opportunity to experience and
learn about living in harmony with nature by providing:
- education, art and research opportunities, land
conservation & restoration
- a dynamic model residence and learning center
- a vision for attaining a sustainable future

ADAPT Meets With Success

The power of organizing people to confront a system that is not working for the very people it is in place to serve was experienced again today by members of ADAPT of Tennessee. Twelve individuals of west Tennessee took over the lobby of the Aging Commission of the Mid-South. ADAPT was upset by the inappropriate treatment people with disabilities faced while attempting to move out of nursing facilities and back into their own homes.

“They were supposed to be there to help me, but the Aging Commission showed me no respect and ignored me and denied me services,” said Glenn Bailey. Glenn now lives in his own apartment.

“If it wasn’t for the Memphis Center for Independent Living getting TennCare officials to step in, the Aging Commission would have prevented me from living where I want too," explains Mr. Bailey. "They had decided that I could not live on my own, but they never asked me what I could do. When they finally got around to asking me, they didn't believe me! They said I could not transfer on my own; hell, I can stand up and transfer easily. Everything they did was an attempt to keep me in the nursing home," Mr. Bailey continued.

“Mr. Bailey is not the only one we have seen face these issues when attempting to receive the Statewide Waiver,” said Randy Alexander an ADAPT Organizer. “Whether it is lack of understanding that’s creating paternalistic attitudes or straightforward discriminatory attitudes at the Aging Commission of the Mid-South the end result for people with disabilities is the same. Segregation.”

After filling the lobby ADAPTers dug in and held fast to the demands that the administration of the Commission supply them with a contact list of the board of directors, including the appointing authority of each board member; that they have a board meeting so representatives of ADAPT can address the issues with the board within 15 days; that Commission provide copies of all procedures internal, external and otherwise concerning the Statewide Waiver; that they agree to an independent review of all calls and applications that have not led to approval for the Statewide Waiver over the previous two years; and that they provide a written a letter of apology from Dr. Kathleen Spears and her staff to Mr. Bailey for their ableist agenda and unwillingness to provide him assistance in moving out of the nursing home.

Five hours later ADAPTers emerged having received a contact of Board Members, a letter from the Board Chair of the Aging Commission of the Mid-South, Jeff Huffman, committing to a Board meeting. ADAPT also confirmed being on the Board meeting agenda during discussions with Board Member Sybille Noble. Ms. Noble arrived at the Aging Commission and facilitated ADAPT receiving the policies and procedures, listened to issues raised about the application process and has a commitment to work with us to look into issues in applying for the Statewide Waiver.

Although Kathleen Spears, the Director of the Aging Commission of the Mid-South, would not write a letter of apology to Mr. Bailey he finally has a copy of his personal file he requested in writing more then two months ago.

Darwin's Great-Great Grandson to Speak in Nashville

In 2005, accomplished screenwriter Chapman (Runaway Jury), the great-great-grandson of Charles Darwin, sat in a Pennsylvania courtroom to witness Darwinism (and science) on trial. His account of the proceedings provides an irreverent yet insightful understanding of the conflict between evolution and creationism/intelligent design. It explores constitutional limits on religious education, the adversarial justice system, the signal importance of individualism in American life, and, most of all, how the deeply rooted fear of all that we do not understand may undermine our cherished freedoms, notably, the freedom to worship—or not to worship—as we see fit. His unerring and easy-to-understand narration of this modern Scopes Monkey Trial, accompanied by his brilliant (and often hilarious) analysis of quite complex testimony, results in a valuable guide to future educational controversies and the role courts will play in resolving issues affecting the most fundamental element of our way of life: our children’s schooling. This book should be read by all high school students and their parents, and all who are concerned with religious freedom or freedom from religion.

Tuesday, April 17 7PM
1904 Fatherland St.
Nashville, TN 37206
615-228-1570


Please join us for an informal reception for
Matthew Chapman
Great-great grandson of Darwin
and author of the newly released book
40 Days and 40 Nights: Darwin, Intelligent Design, God, OxyContin®, and Other Oddities on Trial in Pennsylvania
crafted while covering the Dover, PA “intelligent design” trail for Harper’s Bazaar.

Hosts: Michael Sims, Michele Flynn, Collier Goodlett and Sally Schloss
Offerings of wine and finger-food appreciated.

Matthew will present a short overview of his book, engage in an informal discussion facilitated by Michael Sims, author of Darwin’s Orchestra, respond to questions from the audience, be available to sign books, and generally just meet and greet in a relaxed atmosphere.

Copies of 40 Days and 40 Nights available for sale by Matthew.
RSVP’s appreciated.
228-1570


Library Journal says 40 Days and 40 Nights is a "brilliant (and often hilarious) analysis of quite complex testimony, [that] results in a valuable guide to future educational controversies...This book should be read by all high school students and their parents, and all who are concerned with religious freedom or freedom from religion."

Chapman, Matthew. 40 Days and 40 Nights: Darwin, Intelligent Design, God, OxyContin®, and Other Oddities on Trial in Pennsylvania.
Collins: HarperCollins. Apr. 2007. c.288p. ISBN 0-06-117945-0 [ISBN
978-0-06-117945-7]. $25.95. SOC SCI

— Gilles Renaud, Ontario Court of Justice, Cornwall

TNT Hosts Health Care Hearings

Citizens to Question Top Officials about the Crisis of Long Term Care in a public conference being held on March 29, 2007 from 9:30 am-2:30 pm at West End United Methodist Church on 2200 West End Avenue in Nashville. The event is free of charge and being hosted by the community organization 'Tying Nashville Together.'


Confirmed Attendees:

Gerri Robinson, Metro Social Services; Gordon Bonnyman, Tennessee Justice Center; Rep. Brenda Gilmore, John Arriola, Patti Killingsworth, Representing TennCare and the State, Brian McGuire, AARP lobbyist

The Panels of Testimonials will include:

9:30am Panel: The Need - Personal Testimony
· Senior Citizen and Family Testimony
· Senior Organizations, Senior Advocacy Groups and Healthcare Advocates

10:30 am Panel: Nursing Home and Home Healthcare Officials
· The Need for Home Based Healthcare
· Challenges/Opportunities for Meeting the Home Based Healthcare Need

11:45 Panel: Local Government Officials
· Administration of Senior Services
· Home Based Healthcare Needs of Seniors
· Testimony

12:45 Lunch Break

1:30 pm Panel: Public Funding and Policy Associated with
Home Based Healthcare and Nursing Home Care

Tying Nashville Together
P.O. Box 121371
Nashville, TN 37212
615.327.2625

Iraqi War Deaths: March 17th-24th

Those who died in Iraq from Mar 17 to 24:

Pvt John Landry Jr 20 Lowell MA
Pvt William Davis 26 Adrian MI
Sgt Ed Santini 25 Toa Baja PR
Sgt John Allen 25 Palmdale CA
Sgt Ryan Green 24 Woodlands TX
Sgt Wayne Cornell 26 Holstein NE

Pvt Stephen Richardson 22 Bridgeport CT
Spc Curtis Glawson Jr 24 Daleville AL
Sgt Adrian Lewis 30 Mauldin SC
Cpl Dustin Lee 20 Quitman MS
Pvt Joey Sams II 22 Spartanburg SC
Sgt Freeman Gardner 26 Little Rock AR
Sgt Darrell Griffin 36 Alhambra CA
Sgt Nicholas Lightner 29 Newport OR
Henry Bogrette 21 Richville NY
Spc Lance Springer II 23 Benbrook TX
Sgt Greg Riewer 28 Frazee MN
Cpl Trevor Roberts 21 Oklahoma City OK

87 were seriously wounded and maimed.
58 wounded were returned to kill fields.

520 Iraqi sisters and brothers were killed.

Cf: www.icasualties.org

ADAPT Calls for Self Determination

Monday ADAPT of Tennessee confronts local organization that continues discrimination towards people with disabilities.

ADAPT of Tennessee has a long history of battling discrimination and segregation based on disability. We have met head-on with ableist attitudes that create policies and programs that discriminate towards people with disabilities and serve to segregate us from the community. For over a year now ADAPT of Tennessee has been monitoring such ableist attitudes from a local organization.

What makes this even more tragic is that this very organization is part of the State and County system that is in place to work with people with disabilities. Recently a new member of ADAPT of Tennessee was in the process of moving out of a nursing home and into his own apartment. The very organization that was supposed to be there to help him did everything they could to not allow him to live where he wanted. Despite all of the support from friends, ADAPT members, family, the Memphis Center for Independent Living and his own will and self-determination. Fortunately because of his supports and advocates this local organization was dismissed from his case.

Therefore, because this organization willingly has discriminated against persons with disabilities and continues to do so ADAPT of Tennessee will be presenting, in true “ADAPT style” a list of demands. ADAPT plans to stay until these demands are met, or otherwise. We believe the demands we have are far and just, yet provide the changes needed to end the agencies ableist and discriminatory actions.

Continuing information will be made available Monday just prior to the action or more information is available call Randy at 901/359-4982.

Knoxville Hosts Rally Against Discrimination

U.T. Affiliates and Knoxville Community Members Rally in Support of Dr. George
White, Jr.

University of Tennessee faculty, staff, and students as well as Knoxville
community members will hold a march and rally on Tuesday, March 27. The event
begins at 3:30 pm at the Humanities Plaza and Amphitheater located on the U.T.
campus. Participants will march from the Humanities Plaza to the
Administration building behind Circle Park. for a rally featuring speakers
from both the University of Tennessee and Knoxville communities. The event
will end at approximately 4:30 pm.


The event is being organized and sponsored by groups such as the Black Faculty
and Staff Association, Students for a Progressive Society, Jobs with Justice
of East Tennessee, the U.T. chapter of the NAACP, United Campus Workers, and
the Progressive Student Alliance in response to the culture of discrimination
that is being perpetuated by the University administration. The march and
rally is being held in direct response to the wrongful denial of tenure for
Dr. George White, Jr. Dr. White was overwhelmingly recommended for tenure by
his peers in the University's History Department. He was later denied tenure
by the Dean of Arts and Sciences Bruce Bursten, Chancellor Loren Crabtree, and
President John Petersen on the basis of the unsubstantiated claims of a single
individual.

The organizers and sponsors of this event welcome and encourage interested
students, faculty, staff, and community members to attend.

Homeless Listen to Mayor

Over a hundred homeless and friends demonstrated in front of the courthouse from 7am until 7:30 and then proceeded into the Courthouse. Supporters of Homeless Housing represented more than half of all citizens that came to listen to the Mayor. The majority of the other attendees were employees of the city.


It was clear by “hissing sounds” that came from homeless members that the majority of the group was not happy with the announcements made by David Manning, the Chief Financial Officer of the City. The initial report presented included the budget Metro’s Homelessness Program. This only included the request from the Homeless Commission that would allow for 50 units of permenant supportive housing. Specifically, the budget was presented as follows:

FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE REPORT:

******

Additional FY 2008 Funding* $600,000
Additional MDHA Funding $600,000
Initial Funding Recommended by Mayor $600,000
Social Services Funds Reallocated to Program $689,400



*$450,000 of this funding will be included in the Capital Plan

******



BREAKDOWN OF THESE NUMBERS BY THE POWER PROJECT

Additional FY 2008 Funding* $600,000

This is for the 50 units of permanent supportive housing that the Mayor’s Commission to End Chronic Homelessness presented to Metro Socials Services Commission. $450,000 of this is NOT in the General Operating Budget but will be in the Capital Budget. The $150,000 of this amount that IS in the General Operating Budget is Supportive Services for these housing units.

Additional MDHA Funding $600,000

This is Federal Funds that was earmarked specifically for homeless housing. This could be used as matching fund for the $600,000 of city dollars for the 50 units.

Initial Funding Recommended by Mayor $600,000

This is the annual budget that has been recommended for the last 2 years of the Mayor’s Commission. It is positive that this was not cut.

Social Services Funds Reallocated to Program $689,400

This is Metro Social Services Homeless Services Unit Budget. This does not support homeless housing.

HOMELESS ACTIVISTS TO CONTINUE

The Homeless will continue at three levels:
*Continued targeted education with Mayor and Metro Council from now through May 24th (delivery of Capitol Budget)

*Voter Registration and Get Out the Vote, focusing on Mayoral Candidates.
*More Public Education activities (to be determined)



Nashville Homeless Power Project
Homeless Organizing the Homeless & Working for Solutions
42 The Arcade, Nashville, Tennessee 37219
Office: (615) 733-0633 Cell: (615) 569-4740
info@homelesspower.org www.homelesspower.org

New Zine Collection Opens in Murfreesboro

Linebaugh Public Library in Murfreesboro will debut its new zine
collection with an open house at 3 p.m. this Saturday. Local zine
publisher Jerianne Thompson will present an introduction to zines and
the library's zine collection, followed by a Q&A discussion about zines.
Coffee and snacks will be provided.

The collection includes zines on a wide variety of topics, including Tennessee-produced zines. This program is free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.linebaugh.org/zines.htm. Be there!

==================================
Zine World: A Reader's Guide to the Underground Press
PO Box 330156 * Murfreesboro TN 37133
www.undergroundpress.org

Sixteen Arrested in Call for Fair Housing

Sixteen homeless advocates were arrested last night in Nashville, Tennessee and charged with criminal trespassing during an action to raise awareness about the need for more low income housing for the homeless. Among those arrested was Father Charlie Stroebel, founder of the Nashville Homeless Mission, which provides food and temporary shelter to hundreds in the homeless community. Also arrested was Cheri Honkala, of the Kensington Welfare Rights Union, who was in Nashville to stand in solidarity with the homeless camp.

The camp, called "Without Housing" was organized by members of the Nashville Homeless Power Project, an organization composed of homeless, formerly homeless and their allies, which advocates for the rights of the homeless in Nashville. The organization was recently featured in the news concerning the case of Tamara Cole, a homeless woman who drowned after being pushed off a bridge by young men who were harrassing the homeless. Homeless advocates believed that Cole's body was underneath a barge which the city refused to move, until the Power Project held a vigil and campaign to recover her body, which was found underneath the barge.

The "Without Housing" camp was intended to coincide with the release of the Mayor's budget to draw attention to the need for more low income housing for the homeless. Carmon Ryals, of the The Nashville Homeless Power Project says that the mayor has promised an additional 200 low income housing units this year, but has only delivered on fifty additional housing units. The campaign is designed to bring public pressure to the mayor to deliver the additional housing units.

The homeless advocates arrested last night were charged with criminal trespassing after refusing to leave the homeless camp when their permit expired at 11pm. The organizers were planning to hold their camp on the lawn in front of the city building through friday, but after the arrests the camp was taken down. Many of those at the camp were planning to spend the night on the city lawn to experience homeless first hand, including Nashville vice-mayor Howard Gentry.

Those arrested in the action were: Don Beisswenger, Pam Beziat, Mitzi Cerjan, Will Conelly, Clemmie Greenlee, Cheri Honkala, Stanislav Kupferschmidt, Tony Mazzoli, Karl Meyer, Rodney Peoples, Sam Ruggero, Charles Strobel, Glem Uther, Bryan White, John Zirker, and Joe X.

Members of the Homeless Project are planning to attend the Mayor’s Budget address this Friday morning at 8am in the Metro Council Chamber. Until that point individuals will continue to gather on the site of the camp as friends and “break bread together” and serve meals. Charges against the sixteen arrested are expected to be dropped and they are expected to be released this evening.

This Week on Avalon Farmcast

This week's show is from the Saturday protest & march in Nashville to mark the anniversary of the start of the war in iraq. Though other gatherings were much bigger around the country and around the world, ours was a lot larger than the October anti-war protest and there were lots of people deeply concerned with how this country is behaving in the world with the current administration. With each event more and more people come out to speak out and be heard...

On the show are highlights from the speakers that day, including many folks from the Farm in Summertown, Carl Myer, Ginny Welsh from Radio Free Nashville and more. There are also more pictures on the my farmblog.

valerie reynolds
http://www.avalonfarmcast.com

Iraqi War Deaths: Week of March 11th-17th

Those who died in Iraq from Mar 11 to 17:

Sgt Douglas Stone 49 Taylorsville UT
Sgt Daniel Woodcock 25 Glennallen AK
Sgt Thomas Latham 23 Delmar MD
Spc Jonathan Smith 19 Atlanta GA
Cpl Nathanial Windsor 20 Scappoose OR
Sgt Robert Carr 22 Warren OH
Pvt Alberto Garcia Jr 23 Bakersfield CA

Pvt Angel Rosa 21 Portland ME
Cpl Brian Chevalier 21 Georgia
Spc Adam Rosema 27 Pasadena CA
Spc Stephen Kowalczyk 32 San Diego CA
Cpl Steven Chavez Hondo NM
Spc Forrest Waterbury 25 Richmond TX
Spc Joshua Boyd 30 Seattle WA
Cpl Raymond Holzhauer 19 Dwight IL
Sgt Blake Harris 27 Hampton GA
Sgt Terry Prater 25 Speedwell TN
Sgt Emerson Brand 29 Rigby ID
Pvt James Arnold 21 Mattawan MI
Sgt John Stephens 41 San Antonio TX
Sgt Christopher Brevard 31 Phoenix AZ
Sgt Benjamin Sebban 29 Sebban TN
Sgt Nimo Tauala 29 Honolulu HI
Cpl Harry Timberman 20 Minong WI
Pvt Anthony Kaiser 27 Narrowsburg NY
Spc Marieo Guerrero 30 Fort Worth TX

58 were seriously wounded and maimed.
60 wounded were returned to kill fields.

308 Iraqi brothers and sisters were killed.

Cf: www.icasualties.org

Commentary: Watershed Vote

President Ahmadinejad speaks to the U.N. Security Council as U.S.
battleships point their missiles at Iran's forehead, but the fact is that
if the Security Council sanctions Iran, it will be telling the nations of
the General Assembly that it can use its economic fist against them, too,
if they attempt to bring their people into 21st century prosperity by
developing nuclear energy for peaceful economic purposes.

It is a watershed time for economic democracy. As a nation, we once
prospered because corporations learned that making products is not
enough. Everyone must be able to buy that product. Material prosperity
can be a mixed blessing, but economic injustice is certainly an evil, one
which often explodes into wars. All of us will be watching the House of
Representatives vote on war appropriations.

- Jean G. Braun

Terrorist Law Used Against Anti-Automobilists

At Geneva's Automobile Salon, a protest action against cars was repressed with unusual violence. Frisking of naked subjects, DNA testing and seizure of cell phones were implemented to prevent a dozen militants from unfurling a banner. Does criticism of the automobile ideology threaten public order to such a point?


On the occasion of the Geneva Automobile Salon, which closed its doors Sunday, March 18, a dozen associated militants had planned to organize a protest action by unfurling a banner denouncing the hypocrisy of automobile manufacturers inside the salon.

The judicial police for the Canton of Geneva preventatively arrested all the militants and cameramen present and placed them in custody for over eight hours. Stéphen Kerckhove, delegate for Agir pour l'Environnement, and a participant in this action, was handcuffed and taken to the judicial police station for questioning. The arrested militants were blamed for being the "presumed authors of threats alarming the public" ... and that before any action took place!

Handcuffing, frisking of naked subjects, seizure of video materiel and cell phones, DNA testing and fingerprinting, telephone bugging and stalking of the militants were consequently the rule for muzzling the activists present. The disproportion in the means used to forestall a nonviolent action is such that the militants wonder about the deep reasons that motivated the Geneva police. Agir pour l'Environnement's delegate will have to appear before a Geneva magistrate again in the coming weeks.

Stéphen Kerckhove protests the methods of the Swiss judicial police, using anti-terrorist laws to try to intimidate and muzzle anti-4x4 militants. The association's delegate observes that "denouncing climate risks amounts to alarming the public and consequently falls under the hammer of Swiss law. Only automobile manufacturers have the right to 'inform' the public through climate-killing advertising."

Even though climatic disruption is, in fact, a "threat that could alarm the public," the European associations that come together in the collective 4x4network will continue, in spite of intimidations, to demand a binding Community regulation limiting greenhouse gas emissions to 120 grams of CO2 per kilometer traveled by 2012.

http://www.reporterre.net/libertes/loi-anti-terroriste-contre-les-anti-automobiles.php

New Strip Mine Permit Issued

OSM Issues Permit to 10 Mile Strip Mine (Buckeye Springs Mine 2)

OSM has issued the SMCRA permit for Buckeye Springs Mine 2, a ten mile long contour strip mine in Claiborne County, TN. The mine is a continuation of Buckeye Springs Mine 1, which is the contour strip portion of the Horseshoe Mountain, mountaintop removal mine. The mine will destroy numerous streams and wetlands, as well as forests and rock houses, and it will add to the impact of the already permitted 8,000 acres of mines in the area that are either still active or have not achieved bond release. OSM itself identified the possibility of a major flood from all of the mining in the area and admits that this mine will only exacerbate the risk. The streams in the area are running brown. Landslides have occurred at other mines in the area and OSM has stated that some of the sediment basins are to be located in extremely acid/ toxic materials. The site is in Indiana Bat habitat. Not only did OSM fail to conduct an EIS on the mine (they've done an EA), they issued the permit before TDEC had issued the water quality permits for the mine (the hearing on those permits is on March 27 at 7 pm at Cove Lake State Park - we'll send the notice out this week).


We intend to sue under the National Environmental Policy Act. If there are lawyers or organizations out there with experience with complex environmental litigation, we would be very grateful for help. Please reply to this email or to unitedmountaindefense@yahoo.com ; (preferably both).

Bhopal Women Need Your Support

Our sister/friend, Diane Wilson, co-founder of Code Pink, just got out
of a Texas prison last Fall from a protest and fast she undertook
because she was concerned about the plight of the people of Bhopal. As
we march and petition for peace and justice here in this country,
let's take a moment to act in solidarity with our sisters and
brothers who have endured over 30 years of hell because of corporate
greed and irresponsibility Below are excerpts of a recent email from
Students for Bhopal, and you can go to their URL and find out more if
you need to. Please use their offered phone card and call if you can,
but if you wnat to do something quickly, send a free fax.



The last few days have been critical ones for the Bhopal campaign.
Those of you following the flurry of emails already know that the
cause couldn't be more important: the survival of tens of thousands of
Carbide's gas and water-contamination victims (more background at
http://www.studentsforbhopal.org/RightToLive.htm). Rather than follow
through on their promises and grant our demands (including access to
poison-free drinking water & competent medical care) the State
Government of Madhya Pradesh has instead violently arrested the hunger
strikers on their thirteenth day of fasting in an attempt to break our
campaign. It won't succeed. Hundreds of angry phone calls from
compassionate supporters around the world have deluged the government
at every level in the past 24 hours, and massive mobilizations are
taking place on the ground in Bhopal. Although the situation is still
in flux, I wanted to send you all the latest news and thank you for
the actions you've already taken, which continue to put the state
government under greater pressure than they've ever faced from our
campaign before.

The Status
Pragya writes from Bhopal: The five hunger strikers are currently
sitting on the cold stone floor on the third story of Hamidia
Hospital. They are surrounded by the Superintendent, Chief
Superintendent, and other police personnel that have taken over the
whole floor. Imagine, being taken to a hospital by force at seven in
the morning, and after thirteen days of fasting, not even getting a
bench to sit on. The Collector, who gave the orders for the arrest in
the first place, now permitted a few people to meet the hunger
strikers. When these four people went to the hospital, the police told
them they could not meet the fasters. Must be a "communication gap."

What can we do at this crucial time? Call, call,call! The police have
to know that they are not going to get away with what they did, and we
are the ones who have to tell them that- again and again until they
start ripping their hair out of its follicles. A few hours ago, an
email urging people to call the hospital was sent out, so that
supporters, media, and lawyers could meet the fasters. YOUR CALLS
WORKED! The hunger strikers' lawyer is on his way to meet them this
very moment. Continue pouring on the pressure - it is highly
effective. Please continue to let us know. The Bhopalis are ever
grateful for the support you all are providing.

One of the original six hunger strikers is still at large and in
hiding. Meanwhile other survivors have converged on the Tinshed and
are themselves taking up the hunger strike, in case the government
decides to force-feed the original hunger strikers. This is something
that the government has been afraid to attempt thus far (probably
because of your outraged phone calls) but are likely to try.

Shalini writes from Bhopal: The sense that we are getting here is that
these calls are working amazingly well. the collector just tried
(amidst all your calls..) to lure survivors to break the fast by
promising to arrange a meeting with CM tomorrow. Of course the hunger
strikers didn't agree with this. they told the collector clearly, "we
would break the fast only when we meet the CM and depending upon the
result of the meeting" the Collector walked out of the hospital all
red and fuming!!!

Our friends in the hospital know that you are making the calls for
them and it is this support that is giving them more strength to
continue to be as determined as ever. so friends, please continue
calling, these calls are making a huge difference in those closed
walls which we call 'control room'


Take Action
Demand the immediate and unconditional release of the Bhopalis.

1. Call as many of the following numbers as you can. If you don't have
an international calling card, you can use ours: dial 1-800-887-2991,
PIN 7087821888, security code 463. Don't be surprised if you have
trouble getting through, or if you're rudely hung up on. Some of these
people are turning off their phones temporarily to avoid your phone
calls, and others will treat you rudely in the hopes that you do not
call again. This is because your calls are effective, and they've
already let everyone in the MP government know that the world is
watching. Please continue to call as frequently and as often as you can.

Call:
(if calling from the United States, please preface your calls with 011)

The Collector, B.K. Mishra:
+91-94251 85550

Anurag Jain, Personal Secretary of the Chief Minister:
+91-94250-20285

Call M.M. Upadhyay, Secretary, Bhopal Gas Relief
+91 94250 11863
+91 755 2441620

Superintendent of Police, Anant Kumar Singh:
+91 94251 76688

Additional Superintendent of Police, Dr. G.K. Pathak:
+91 94253 02001

Additional District Magistrate Mr. Ojha:
+91 94250 19501

CSP Dharamvir Singh Yadav:
+91 94253 04000

Sub Divisional Magistrate: HK Sharma:
+91 94250 04767

Women's Police Station:
+91 755 2443860

Shyamala Hills Police Station:
+91 755 2661477

Principal Secretary, Mr. Iqbal Singh:
+91 755 2441314

Call The Chief Minister, Mr. Shivraj Singh Chouhan
+91 755 2442231 (Home)
+91 755 2441751 (home)
+91 755 2442255
+91 755 2442241

Call Saxena, CM's Personal Assistant
+91 755 9425171925

Call MM Upathiya, Minister of Health
+91 755 94250-11863 (mobile)

The Chief Secretary, R.C. Sahini:
+91-9425-151-652 (mobile)
+91 755- 2441848
+91 755 2441351 (Personal Assistant/home)

2. Send a FREE FAX (if you haven't already) and urge your friends,
family, and neighbors to do the same:
http://www.studentsforbhopal.org/FaxAction07/fax_action.php.

Commentary: Stop Guantanamo Secrecy

The House of Representatives can cut the purse strings, but any other
strings they attach to the Iraq war can be vetoed by the President, and
his third-choice general can play, like pawns, fresh surges of troops
across Baghdad, until their arms or legs or faces are blown off, and they
are returned home to Walter Reed.


The perhaps swollen face of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is pictured on page
148 of the 9-11 Commission Report. As a Guantanamo detainee, his trial
will stand in virtual secrecy before a three-judge military panel,
without a defense lawyer and without reporters.

Members of Congress who vote to pay, with borrowed money, for George Bush
wars which are based on Guantanamo secrecy, should have their names
plastered all over the Internet every time they do it.

- Jean G. Braun

Nashville's Moveon.Org to Host Candlelight Vigil

Nashville Gathers to Commemorate the 4th Anniversary of the War in Iraq

Nashville – Residents of Nashville will hold a vigil to commemorate the 4th anniversary of the war in Iraq. The vigil will honor American soldiers who were wounded or killed in Iraq through a reading of personal accounts written by family members of those who have died.

At this sad moment, people across the country are reflecting on the war in Iraq. For the first time Congress is considering a real deadline to bring our troops home safely from Iraq. This important step gives the troops, military families, and concerned citizens around the country real hope for a change in course.

"It is time to stop the escalation, bring our troops home safely and end this war," said Anna Thompson, a MoveOn.org Political Action member. "We urge Rep. Cooper to pass legislation to redeploy American troops out of Iraq this year."

People will gather at candlelight vigils holding signs that say "Iraq War: Wrong Way" and "Keep 'em safe, Bring 'em home."

Vigil details:

Who: Residents of Nashville and members of MoveOn.org
Where: Centennial Park
When: Monday, March 19, 2007 at 6:00 PM

Support the Kucinich Plan for Impeachment

Minutes ago the U.S. Senate AGAIN failed to exercise meaningful oversight
for the national suicide which is our policy in Iraq. It is by now
abundantly clear that the Republican caucus is determined to go down with
the Bush presidency, and take our military and our country with them while
they do nothing. Instead, a bipartisan cattle stampede of senators approved
two "we don't hate the troops" resolutions, nothing but vain puffery,
swearing to take "no action" about this or that. We don't in the slightest
care about what action Congress is NOT going to take, we want to know is
what they ARE going to do to reverse the insanity of current policy.

On the occasion of the guilty verdicts against Scooter Libby, Howard Dean
was quoted as saying we would have a new president "soon enough." If he is
talking about the 2008 election that is NOT soon enough, not even close.
Day by day, ever more outrageous scandals and abuses of power spew forth
from the White House, as we now learn that they have been so corrupted
beyond redemption by their power grabs, that they even used the U.S.
attorneys themselves for nakedly partisan witch hunts, to try to influence
our elections, and fired all who would not bend under their political
dictate.

And what was Bush's response when called on this monumental affront not
just to the checks in our government, but also to the independency of our
very justice system? "What was mishandled was the explanation of the cases
to the Congress," he said. In Bush's mind there are no policy mistakes, let
alone policy crimes. In his world there are only SPIN mistakes, when we the
people aren't quite stupid enough to buy their criminal hypocrisies. We
hear admissions that "mistakes were made," as if mistakes somehow made
themselves. But even where there is verbal responsibility taken, there is
NEVER actual accountability. The sacrificial fall guys will reluctantly
resign, but NEVER is there a price paid by the core perpetrators for their
conduct.

The Bush presidency is one of false appearances, phony and disingenuous
words of compassion and democracy, while the true underlying agenda is the
embezzlement of our national treasury, and even those of other sovereign
countries, on behalf of their biggest campaign contributors, who then
remorselessly relocate to evade taxes on their ill-gotten profits. The Bush
presidency is to create wars out of whole cloth, to demonize not only their
critics buy entire innocent populations, first Iraq, then Lebanon, now Iran.
It is a mission to exacerbate terrorism to the maximum extent possible,
while ignoring its actual roots causes and laying off its ringleaders, at
the mortal peril of our true national security. And it is not going to STOP
in any respect until the day that Bush is lawfully removed from office.

It was not enough that president Bush should pack our courts with radical
ideologue judges, one of whom just this week presumed to overturn two
centuries of 2nd amendment case law, to let the NRA rewrite our very
Constitution. No, even the choice of cases to bring to court they must warp
so that only Democrats could ever be prosecuted for any crime, despite the
fact that most of the wrongdoing they were actually finding was by
Republicans. How their talking head cronies howled after the Libby verdicts
that it was just a political prosecution. Their new rule of law is that
it's against the law to prosecute Republicans, no matter what the crime, and
that any attempt to do so is by definition a political vendetta. And if the
Libby trial exposed anything, it was that Cheney was the king culprit.

And hanging over everything is the preemptively declared threat of a
presidential veto of any attempt, no matter how timid, to confront these
high crimes. And that is why we have concluded that Dennis Kucinich is
speaking the essential truth. We have long known that Bush was planning an
illegal war of aggression against Iran. Shame on the leadership of the
House for the sudden demise, without even a vote, of the provision in the
war supplemental appropriations bill to preclude an attack on Iran without
express congressional consent. Let there be a vote so we can know which
members of Congress think it's OK for the president to launch horrific and
disastrous new wars without even a peep from them.

What Kucinich so clearly understands in his call for impeachment is that
all these things are mere symptoms of the foundational problem, the
cowardice of members of Congress as they run away from actually restraining
the abuse of executive power. What are non-binding resolutions except
avoidance of actually challenging the policy issue? What are bills that
write into themselves exceptions if the president takes "responsibility" for
them? Is the role of Congress to be relegated to courteously writing the
president's signing statements for him?

ACTION PAGE: http://www.peaceteam.net/impeachment_now3.php

Bush loves to lecture the American people on the lessons of 9/11. There
was only one lesson to be learned from 9/11 . . . that we had the WRONG
president.

And in five years since there are still too many who have not learned that
critical lesson, which failure is the reason New Orleans was left to sink by
a guitar strumming photo-op president, which failure is the reason even the
administration drafted Patriot Act has been abused to conduct massive
illegal surveillance of innocent American citizens. That failure is the
reason for torture of those even suspected of being our enemies has become
official U.S. policy, in utter defiance of all norms of international law
and civilized decency.

That failure is the reason our entire intelligence operation against
weapons of mass destruction, the life long specialty of Valerie Plame, was
sabotaged and jeopardized to try to gain cheap political advantage. Or was
it to keep concealed even more heinous acts of treason. That failure is the
reason our military is still pursuing a fool's mission in Iraq, chasing an
enemy who is not there in any significant numbers. We face nothing but two
more years of such disasters and outrages every minute that George Bush,
Dick Cheney and their pod people remain in any office of authority.

So what if Gonzales bites the dust. He is just one more water-carrier.
He would already have been long gone had not Bush PERSONALLY intervened to
quash investigation into the abuse of administration's warrantless domestic
eavesdropping program, when that first came to partial light. We have a
president and vice president for whom obstruction of justice is just another
burglar tool in their bag, as they rob the balance of powers in our
Constitution. Let the subpoenas now issuing in the U.S. attorney scandal
lead to door of the oval office, where the trail surely does directly lead.

ACTION PAGE: http://www.peaceteam.net/impeachment_now3.php

And let us renew again and again our call for Congress to impeach ALL
those who have harmed we the people so grievously, and to prosecute those
impeachments at the most mercifully swift speed.

Presenting the Iraq Veterans Memorial

This memorial was conceived as a place to honor the servicemembers who lost their lives over the past four years during the Iraq War. By watching the videos, you will have the opportunity to learn about these heroes from those who knew them best -- their family, friends, and fellow servicemembers. Each man and woman represented in the memorial had attributes and qualities that made them unique, but they all have one thing in common - they were truly loved and are deeply missed.

Over 500 groups, bloggers, and individuals have signed up to host the memorial on their websites and send the link to their members. We encourage you to share this link with everyone you know. There will be some local events and screenings of the memorial which are listed on the website.

http://iraqmemorial.org

Democratic Candidate Calls for an End to Torture

Former Alaska Senator Calls for Congress to Use Its ‘Constitutional Authority.’

ARLINGTON, VA – Evoking Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution, former U.S. Senator and current Democratic Presidential candidate Mike Gravel today called on Congress to use its Constitutional authority to immediately demand an end to the Bush administration’s practice of torture on enemy combatants.

“Under the U.S. Constitution, all enemy combatants fall under the jurisdiction of the Congress. It is abhorrent that the United States government today continues to torture human beings in Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo Bay and other secret C.I.A. prisons.”

Gravel made reference to, Article 1, Section 8, Clause 11 of the U.S. Constitution which reads, 'The Congress shall have power to..declare war..and make rules concerning captures on land and water.'

Gravel said, “The Constitution is very clear that prisoners of war are the responsibility of the Congress. The Bush administration has unlawfully taken that power without Constitutional justification. The Congress has been derelict in its duty to see that enemy combatants are treated humanely within the guidelines of the Geneva Conventions, and has been equally neglectful in its response to the President’s unlawful use of torture.”

Article 3, Section 1 (a) of the Geneva Convention prohibits, 'Violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture.'

“The practice of torture is immoral. It is un-American and it is ineffective. Information acquired as a result of torture techniques in unreliable. It endangers our soldiers in combat by encouraging reciprocity. It inflicts irreversible damage to our nation’s image and undermines our credibility among the international community.”

Senator Gravel also called upon the Bush administration to provide a full accounting of the names and locations of detainees who have been transferred from secret C.I.A. prisons whose whereabouts are unknown.

“The C.I.A. continues to hold an unknown number of prisoners in secret detention centers abroad and has refused to register those detainees with the International Red Cross or to allow visits by its inspectors. This is a blatant violation of the Geneva Conventions and contrary to international law.”

The senator also referenced former state department official and retired U.S. Army Col. Larry Wilkerson, who in November 2005 told CNN that Vice President Cheney provided ‘philosophical guidance’ that led to the use of torture. “It is unconscionable that the Vice President stood before the Congress and lobbied against a proposed ban on C.I.A. torture techniques.”

“George Bush lied when he told the American people in November 2005, ‘we do not torture.’ How many times will Congress allow the President to lie to the American people?”

Senator Gravel reaffirmed his pledge that if elected President, he will immediately move to vanquish the Military Commissions Act of 2006, signed into law by George Bush, which has made it legal for the C.I.A. to continue operating torture facilities in undisclosed, foreign countries, and for the writ of habeas corpus to be suspended for individuals who are designated "enemy combatants."

M17: Global Day of Action

The people of the United States want an end to the war in Iraq. The elections in November were a clear repudiation of the Bush administration's war of aggression. The new Congress, however, has no intention of ending the war. Bush and the Pentagon generals are determined to prolong the war. Tens of thousands of more troops will be sent to Iraq. We are building a massive antiwar movement on the national and local level. Only the action of the people will stop the war.

We are returning to the Pentagon because the Iraq war has resulted in more than 655,000 Iraqi deaths (Lancet), on top of more than 1 million killed by sanctions between 1990-2003. This is genocide.

We are returning to the Pentagon because U.S. military deaths has exceeded 3,000. But that doesn't begin to tell the story. There have been 21,921 wounded as of Nov. 30 and another 17,835 evacuated due to serious injury or illness as of Sept. 30, 2005 when the Pentagon stopped releasing these statistics.

We are returning to the Pentagon because it is U.S. missiles and bombs, including hundreds of thousands of cluster bombs that have been sent to Israel to kill and maim the people of Palestine and Lebanon. These weapons are a war crime. The estimate is that between 2 million and 3 million cluster bomblets were dropped on Lebanon, and more than a million remain unexploded -- posing a danger to civilians for years to come. The war in Iraq is one front in the U.S. plan for domination of the Middle East. Colonial occupation is a crime whether it be in Iraq or Palestine or Lebanon.

The Global Military Machine


We are returning to the Pentagon because it maintains 714 military bases in 130 countries to extend the influence of US transnational corporations, oil giants and banks. The slogan of national security and the war on terror stands exposed as a pretext for a global empire enforced by military might and limitless violence.


While the focus of the recent years has been to use military power and violence against the Arab people, the Pentagon has been targeting peoples and nations all over the world. U.S. troops occupy South Korea. U.S. nuclear weapons target North Korea. Interventionist actions are already taking place in the Philippines, and are planned against Cuba, Venezuela, and throughout South and Central Asia.


The Warfare State: Spying, Surveillance, Secret Prisons and Torture Facilities


We are returning to the Pentagon to demand the immediate closure of Guantánamo and all other torture facilities. The grotesque revelations of torture and abuse in Abu Ghraib were the tip of the iceberg. Punishing a few rank and file soldiers and counting on the mass media to tire of the story, the Pentagon has tried to conceal the reality that it engages in arbitrary detention and torture of those it identifies as “enemies.”

We are returning to the Pentagon to demand an end to the surveillance and other spy programs conducted against the people of this country by the Pentagon and other agencies.


Militarism: The Social Costs of the Warfare State


We are returning to the Pentagon because the military budget of this country is a dagger in the heart of programs that meet peoples' needs. More than 47 million people in the U.S. are without health care coverage and one out of every four children is born into extreme poverty. Fifty percent of all bankruptcies in the last year were filed by people who couldn't pay their hospital and doctor's bills. Factories are closing and whole communities and neighborhoods are being turned into ghost towns. Skyrocketing tuition is and will continue to make the dream of a college education harder to realize for working class youth. In the last year, Bush and Congress cut money for education, food aid and veterans' benefits while the Senate voted almost unanimously to rubber stamp the new “war” budget of $590 billion (the official budget number of $443 billion conceals at least $150 billion in expenditures.)

We are returning to the Pentagon to challenge the system that is addicted to war and global domination. The Iraq war is a criminal endeavor based on lies. It was always about conquering the entire Middle East with its vast repositories of oil. While the Iraq war has been an absolute catastrophe for the entire people of Iraq and for tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers, it must be remembered that many U.S. corporations are benefiting. They are the recipients of new Pentagon orders for weapons, supplies and contracts. The Iraq war costs approximately $279 million each day. That breaks down to more than $11 million every hour of every day of the year. The total cost of the Iraq war will be $2 trillion, according to the Iraq Study Group report.

Unless the people act now, the human and economic costs of the war will only increase. Let's unite and stand together at the Pentagon on March 17.

M17 Memphis: March for Peace

From Baghdad to Binghampton....From Fallujah to Frayser. The People Have Spoken: Support Our Troops - End the War - Bring them Home Now. Too many, in Memphis across the country and in Iraq, are suffering from a war that should have never happened.

Location:
National Civil Rights Museum, gather in the outside courtyard. March route is approximately 2miles. We will make a loop starting at the Civil Rights Museum, east on G.E. Patterson, north on Danny Thomas to the King Labor Center at Danny Thomas and Beale (where we will honor Dr. King with a symbolic action.) We will then proceed west on Beale to Main and back to the Museum. The King Labor Center is the halfway point of the march. We will have plenty of water available here and will pause to rest. We are working on transportation to take those unable to make the whole march back to the start. If transport is unavailable we recommend that groups park one car at the King Labor Center and carpool.

Saturday • March 17th
March for Peace in Iraq
Honor Dr. King - Speak Out for Peace
Saturday, March 17th 2007 12:00pm
National Civil Rights Museum

Contact:
Jacob Flowers
jacob@midsouthpeace.org
901.725.4990
Mid-South Peace and Justice Center
http://www.midsouthpeace.org


CodePink Meetup Information:

CodePink Memphis will meet at the parking lot of the Memphis Farmers Market
at 11:00 a.m. (March 17th) to meet as a group to walk over to the peace rally
and march. The Farmers Market is behind the Amtrak Station. It is between
S. Front St. and S. Main St. off G.E. Patterson. We will be bringing some signs and pink props, but if you want to bring your own signs, please do. Put them on either bright pink poster board or black, as that is easier to see in a crowd. CodePink Memphis wants to keep our message provocative but positive. The provocative part is that we wear bright pink and the positive part is that we want to be known as a
Pro-Peace group, not an Anti-War group. We suggest putting the signs on
sticks as it will be much less tiring to hold. We will march over to the National Civil Rights museum at 450 Mulberry St. at 11:30 a.m. to join the other peace groups for the rally and march. After the march, as you make your way back to the parking lot off GE Patterson, please remember to leave your CodePink props before going home so they can be used on another day.

For more info contact CodePink Memphis

M17: Nashville "Walk in Their Shoes"

Musica Peace Rally to Mark Fourth Anniversary of the War in Iraq

Nashville, TN: Concerned citizens from the Middle Tennessee region plan to gather on Saturday, March 17th at Owen Bradley Park, on the Music Row Roundabout to mark the anniversary of the fourth year of war with a call for peace. "We are gathering on March 17th because we want peace. The war in Iraq has dragged on for four years at a cost of hundreds of thousands of lives lost and an entire generation devastated by warfare and violence," said Elizabeth Barger, founding member of Peace Roots Alliance.

The peace rally, which is set to kick off at 2pm at 16th and Division will feature a broad range of music, speakers and poets speaking out for peace. "We are really excited this year because Linda Englund of Military Families Speak Out will be in Nashville to talk about the impact this war is having on vets and their families in the Southeast," said Nini Thomas of the Nashville Peace Coalition, "and we are also here to remind people that over one hundred Tennesseans have died while serving in Iraq."

Other featured performers and speakers include hippie elder activist Stephen Gaskin, founder of the Farm in Summertown Tennessee as well as Randall Venson and Keith Caldwell of the Nashville Peace and Justice Center. A collection of musicians is also set to perform including folk musicians, protest singers, performance poets and the "Raging Grannies."

After the speakers and music, the assembled crowd will go on a peace march to the Federal Building at 8th and Broadway. The peace marchers will carry with them shoes representing those killed in Iraq. Each shoe will have a name tag attached to it of an Iraqi or an American killed in Iraq. When the peace marchers arrive at the Federal Building the shoes will be lined up along the length of the sidewalk to provide a visual illustration of those who have died. The theme of this year's rally is "Walk in Their Shoes."

March 17th marks the fourth anniversary of the war in Iraq. Over 3300 Americans have died in the ongoing occupation and an estimated 650,000 Iraqis have died in this war. Americans around the nation are gathering to mark the anniversary and in Washington DC an expected 100,000 people are planning to gather to march on the Pentagon and demand an ending to the war. The event in Nashville is being organized by the Nashville Peace Coalition and the Nashville Peace and Justice Center.

M17: Knoxville Anti-War Rally

Knoxville, Tenn. -- Knoxville peace and anti-war activists will
participate in a national action on Saturday, March 17, marking the
fourth anniversary of the invasion and occupation of Iraq and protesting
the continuing war and occupation. While protesters from around the
country march on the Pentagon, events will begin locally with a rally at
West Hills Park on N. Winston Road at 12 noon and culminate in a public
demonstration at Kingston Pike and Morrell Road near West Town Mall from
2 pm to 4 pm.

The Knoxville Area Coalition for Compassion Justice and Peace, the
University of Tennessee Progressive Student Alliance, the Oak Ridge
Environmental Peace Alliance, People for Peace, Knoxnet, the East
Tennessee Progressive Network and the Knoxville Green Party are among
the groups planning and sponsoring the action.

As of this date, over 3185 Americans have died in the Iraq War. Nearly
24,000 have been wounded. By some estimates, the war has caused the
deaths of 650,000 Iraqi men, women and children. It is costing $5.8
billion per month, a total of over $400 billion so far.

In his recent comments on the floor of the U.S. House of
Representatives, Congressman John Duncan (R., Tenn.) voiced a broad
criticism of the war, stating that "it is time to bring our troops
home." Linking the war to imperiled domestic programs, Duncan said,
"There is no way we can keep all of our promises to our own people on
Social Security, veterans' benefits, and many other things in the years
ahead if we keep trying to run the whole world."

Participants in the local action are urged to bring flowers in honor of
the war dead on all sides of this contentious and costly conflict.

Contacts: Jerry Bone 971-1583 or Bob Grimac 546-5643

M17: Sewanee to Join Peace Rally

Please join CCJP this Saturday as we join a march and rally against the Iraq war. This will be the fourth anniversary of our invasion of Iraq and since that time 3195 U.S. soldiers have been killed and over 32,000 wounded. If you disagree with our continued involvement in Iraq, this Saturday will offer you an opportunity to speak out on the issue. CCJP will be meeting at the Sewanee Community Center on Saturday at 1:00 pm to carpool to Nashville to join their peace rally and march. We should return to the mountain by 6:30 pm. The organizers of the rally encourage those coming to bring old shoes to label with the names of Tennesseans who have served in Iraq, especially those who have been killed or wounded. We will also be recognizing those Iraqis who have been killed during our occupation of Iraq. For more information about the march go to www.npjc.org.

M17: Alabama Peace Events

(Alabama) -- Below are Alabama events planned by member organizations of the Alabama Peace and Justice Coalition and other groups. These events commemorate the 4th anniversary of the Iraq invasion, and demand that the U.S. act now to end the war. They are being held in solidarity with the huge peace actions being held in Washington DC and 1,000+ other cities across the US. More information about those events is at http://www.unitedforpeace.org/




=================================

Auburn

=================================


Monday, March 19 at 5:30 p.m.

Alliance for Peace and Justice

Vigil commemorating 4th anniversary of the Iraq invasion

Toomer's Corner (Magnolia and N. College)

Auburn, AL.


Contact: Michael Mulvaney, mulvamj@auburn.edu or 203-948-8803. More info www.peaceeagle.org



=================================

Birmingham

=================================


Monday, March 19 from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm

Birmingham Speaks Out: Stop The Escalation, Support Our Troops

In recognition of the 4th anniversary of the Iraq invasion

Southside at the Five Points Fountain, 20th St & Magnolia Ave

Birmingham, AL


Vigil /Speakers /Singing/ Citizens time to call for Peace

Sponsors: MoveOn.org, Birmingham One Corps, Pax Christi & Birmingham Peace Project

Endorsed by Progressive Democrats of America/Democracy for America


Contact: Sharron Williams, sawart@bellsouth.net



=================================

Huntsville

=================================


Saturday, March 17 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon

North Alabama Peace Network

Peace Rally -- in solidarity with the March On The Pentagon taking place in Washington, DC.

Corner of Whitesburg Ave. and Airport Rd.

Huntsville, AL


Monday, March 19 from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

North Alabama Committee for Nonviolent Action

Occupation Project and Peace Rally

In front of Rep. Bud Cramer's office at 200 Pratt Ave. (corner of Pratt and Meridian)

Huntsville, AL


Monday, March 19 from 5:00 pm to 7 pm

North Alabama Peace Network

End the War Rally

Wellman Park, in Five Points (corner of Pratt and Andrew Jackson Way)

Huntsville, AL


Please join us in Huntsville for one or more of these events. Bring a friend. Bring a sign, but we'll also have extras.


Contact: Tom Moss, 256-468-5314 cell, NAPN@knology.net or Linda Haynes, 256-429-8639 cell, lahaynes@knology.net



=================================

Mobile

=================================


Saturday, March 17 from 12:00 noon to 3:00 pm

Mobile Citizens for Peace and Mobile Chapter of Veterans for Peace

Midtown Mobile Park (intersection of Government St. and Airport Blvd.)

Mobile, AL


Bring posters if you can. Bring yourselves for sure.



Sunday, March 25, time to be determined

Mobile Citizens for Peace and Mobile Chapter of Veterans for Peace and National Veterans for Peace Caravan

Peace Rally

Midtown Mobile Park (intersection of Government St. and Airport Blvd.)

Mobile, AL


The National Veterans for Peace Caravan is starting from North Carolina headed for a hurricane Katrina rebuilding project in coastal Mississippi. They will stop at the gates of several military bases across the southeast. On this day, March 25, they will stop in Mobile.


After the rally at the park, the groups will go to the local office of congressman Jo Bonner in Mobile. Since last July Citizens for Peace has been requesting a meeting with him, but he never finds the time. So people he claims to represent but won't speak with are going to his office anyway, even without an appointment.



Contact: Fairlie Schreiber, president, Mobile Citizens for Peace, 251-450-5970 (w) 251-645-8539 (h), drunderhill@yahoo.com



Mobile Resist, composed mostly of students and recent graduates of the University of South Alabama in Mobile, has a vanload of members driving to Washington, DC for the demonstration and march on Saturday, March 17. Contact: Patrick Aubrey, 251-709-8507, numutke324@yahoo.com



=================================

Montgomery

=================================


Monday, March 19 at 6:00 p.m.

MoveOn Members in Montgomery

“Stop the Escalation, Bring the Troops Home Safely and End the War”

Candlelight vigil

1000 E. Fairview Ave. (at Woodley Rd in Old Cloverdale)


The vigil will honor American soldiers who were wounded or killed in Iraq through a reading of personal accounts written by family members of those who have died. Bring a candle, posters, signs, flowers and anything you deem appropriate. Details and signup: ol.moveon.org/event/events/event.html?event_id=34827"http://pol.moveon.org/event/events/event.html?event_id=34827



Saturday, March 24 at 4:30 p.m.

Montgomery Peace Project

Film and Discussion

Civil Rights Memorial Center

400 Washington Avenue

Montgomery, AL


The Montgomery Peace Project is hosting the National Veterans for Peace convoy which is traveling through the south to promote Appeal for Redress. The event includes a film and discussion.


Contact: Valerie Downes, 334-462-9522, valerie.downes@splcenter.org



=================================

Oneonta

=================================


Monday, March 19 from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Blount County Committee for Peace & Justice

Vigil to Observe 4th Anniversary of Iraq War

Blount County Courthouse

Oneonta, AL


All are welcome and requested to wear black and bring candles.


We have permission to use the parking spaces in front of the courthouse to place our sandwich boards which will have each years total of the dead (Iraqi, American: active military, contractors, reporters.) and we will read names of Alabamainans who have been killed, including one Blount Countian.


Contact: Sara Rose 205-429-3088, or Morris Gardner 205-681-4928, or e-mail bpeace@urisp.net



=================================

Tuscaloosa

=================================


Monday, March 19 at 4:30 p.m.

Tuscaloosa Peace Project and MoveOn

Vigil commemorating the 4th anniversary of the Iraq war

Denny Chimes on the University of Alabama campus

Tuscaloosa, AL


The Tuscaloosa Peace Project will be cooperating with local MoveOn members in staging a vigil at 4:30 PM on March 19 at Denny Chimes on the U of Al campus.


Contact: David Lowe, (205) 246-6126 (cell), caple66wood@gmail.com



Tuesday, March 20 at 12:00 noon

Students for a Democratic Society

Peace Rally

Denny Chimes, University of Alabama campus

Tuscaloosa, AL



Contact: Chapin Gray, 251-605-7780, chapinrose@gmail.com



# # #


---------------------------------------------------------------

The Alabama Peace & Justice Coalition is made up of eight peace organizations from around the state. More information about APJC is at http://www.alabamapeace.org

Homeless Organize: "Without Housing"

This is an experience you can’t miss. Some think that we, as homeless, are too visible and are working to move us away from sight, services away from downtown or incarcerate us for our “own good and safety”, We want to leave the streets if we can afford a safe place to live and call home. WITHOUT HOUSING, is our step to make us visible. To show that we are here to stay until, WE, as a community change how we deal with issues of poverty and make sure that affordable housing is really affordable for everyone.

WITHOUT HOUSING will take place in front of City Hall because our leaders- our Mayor and our Metro Council- work there and need to witness first hand the ramifications of housing policy. There are workable solutions that we can all solve together, providing people with a basic human right, housing. Meanwhile, we save taxpayer dollars by keeping us out of costly institutions such as jail, ER, and the hospital.

WITHOUT HOUSING will occur on the night of Metro Council so that we can engage with our Council members directly, before, during and after the Council meeting.

WITHOUT HOUSING begins on March 20th, 3 days before Mayor Purcell’s budget address on Friday, March 23rd, and we hope to raise awareness that he has the opportunity to help many of us who will be there Tuesday night, to get housing by putting $2.3 Million in the city budget for 200 units of housing for homeless people. The Homeless Commission has already approved 50 units and the Mayor is looking to make the full 200 happen. LET’S HELP HIM LOOK!


TUESDAY, MARCH 20th, Public Square Park

2:00pm – 5:00pm
Pre-Program Set-Up, Come help us set up, we need as many volunteers as possible.

5:00pm – 7:00pm
Orienations, non-violence trainings
Educational workshops
Letter Writing to the Mayor and YOUR Council Members
Letter Delivery and informal visits with Council Members
Educational Workshops on Homelessness

5:30pm - Press Conference

7:00pm – 9:00pm
Discussion Groups: Why are we “WITHOUT HOUSING”
Continue Letter Writing

9:00pm – 11:00pm
Special Guest Speakers and Musical Artists to be announced
International Spokesperson for the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign
Preparation for URBAN PLUNGE


11pm - Morning URBAN PLUNGE
Urban Plunge is an opportunity for people who have never experienced homeless to do so with the added safety of homeless guides. From 11pm until the morning you have to find a place to sleep. Leaders of WITHOUT HOUSING will help you find a place to sleep somewhere in the city of Nashville. The shelters will be closed unless it goes under 36 degrees. To get involved call us at 733-0633 or email us at info@homelesspower.org and we’ll guide you through the process.


Nashville Homeless Power Project
Homeless Organizing the Homeless & Working for Solutions
42 The Arcade, Nashville, Tennessee 37219
Office: (615) 733-0633 Cell: (615) 569-4740
info@homelesspower.org www.homelesspower.org

TTPC Congratulates Beverly Marrero

The Board and Members of the Tennessee Transgender Political Marrero
congratulate Beverly Marrero on her victory in last night's special election in Senate District 30. As a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives, Marrero
was the sponsor of a bill which would permit gender changes on birth
certificates. She has consistently supported equal rights for all gay, lesbian,
bisexual and transgender people while opposing and end to discrimination against all
gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

The Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition looks forward to working with
Senator Beverly Marrero as we continue our work to permit gender changes on
birth certificates and to ensure equal rights for all gay, lesbian, bisexual and
transgender people in Tennessee.

The Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition (TTPC) is an organization
designed to educate and advocate on behalf of transgender related legislation at
the Federal, State and local levels. TTPC is dedicated to raising public
awareness and building alliances with other organizations concerned with equal rights
legislation.

For more information, contact:

Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition (TTPC)
P.O. Box 92335
Nashville, TN 37209
TTGPAC@aol.com

New Murfreesboro Zine Library

Linebaugh Public Library is bringing zines to Murfreesboro! The library
will host an open house to debut its new zine collection at 3 p.m. on
March 24 in the Second Floor Reading Room. Local zine publisher Jerianne
Thompson will present an introduction to zines and the library's zine
collection, and she will lead a Q&A discussion about zines. Coffee and
snacks will be provided. This program is free and open to the public.

What's a zine, you ask? A zine (pronounced like "magazine") is a
self-published, small circulation booklet or magazine, usually produced
by one person or a few individuals. Zines vary in size and format and
can include a wide variety of topics, such as personal essays,
commentary, do-it-yourself advice, articles about music or movies, and
comics.

The collection - the first of its kind in the state - will include zines
on crafts, bicycle repair, health issues, depression, parenting,
activism, recipes, relationships, life in New Orleans after Hurricane
Katrina, travel, punk music, and several other topics. The collection
will also include these local zines: Zine World, a review zine published
by Jerianne Thompson; Fifth Estate, an anti-authoritarian zine whose
editor lives in Liberty, Tenn.; comics by Ryan Lewis, who lives in
Nashville; Fertile Ground, a parenting zine published in Memphis; zines
produced at Murfreesboro's Southern Girls Rock and Roll camp; and
Radical South, which includes information on activist organizations and
projects in the South. Zines may be checked out for two weeks.

For more information about what zines are or about the library's zine
collection, please visit www.linebaugh.org/zines.htm or email
zines@linebaugh.org. Linebaugh Public Library is located at 105 W. Vine
St. in Murfreesboro.


Please help me spread the word! Hope to see you there!

Jerianne

==================================
Zine World: A Reader's Guide to the Underground Press
PO Box 330156 * Murfreesboro TN 37133
www.undergroundpress.org
==================================
#24 now available! $4 US, $5 Canada, $7 world
cash, stamps, or money order to Jerianne -- no checks

This Week on Avalon Farmcast

This week's show is all about what we can do this weekend to make our voices heard all over this country. There are Peace Marches in Washington DC & Cities throughout America. In Nashville, The Peace & Justice Center has organized an event at Music Row starting at Owen Bradley Park. Join us this Sat. March 17th 2p. Emily & I will be there so be sure to say hello. Look for audio clips on next week's show from the march in Nashville.

Here are links to today's podcast:
website:
http://www.avalonfarmcast.com

xml feed:
feed://www.avalonfarmcast.com/avalonfarms/Podcast/rss.xml

mp3 file (for windows users if needed)
http://www.avalonfarmcast.com/avalonfarms/Podcast/53D0C651-A217-468D-BC0E-C063B2D89CAF_files/show%2328%20March%2014th.mp4

On today's podcast I share some of my thoughts on why I plan to march for peace this saturday. I’m not only a lesbian, I’m an old hippie too and I believe Peace is possible. I was part of the young protesters that helped turn this country around during the Viet Nam war. We can do it again. We MUST do it again. Join a protest in your city or go to Washington D.C. for Saturday’s peace march at the Pentagon.

Bring friends and family with you. Do it...please. Tell this administration enough is enough. It’s time for everybody to wake up now. Lets all show our friends & neighbors it's ok to speak out. Together we can all tell congress to stop the funding, save our troops and hold these people accountable.

Join in the discussion at http://avalonfarmblog.wordpress.com

"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather, to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming-"WOW, what a ride!!!" - unknown

valerie reynolds
avalonfarms@hughes.net
http://www.avalonfarmcast.com
http://avalonfarmblog.wordpress.com