Help Stop the War: Better Late than Never

This is from Global Exchange, been meaning to post this for a while...

TEN THINGS YOU CAN DO TO STOP THE WAR ON IRAQ


1. Call or Fax the White House to express your opposition to an invasion of Iraq. The United States Congress has voted for going to war with Iraq—failing in its duty to represent a deeply divided American public. But there are still ways to stop this invasion. Contact the White House at 202-456-1111 (tel) or 202-456-2461 (fax).


2. Join the national mobilization to stop the war on Iraq by organizing an anti-war event (a rally, march, vigil, teach-in, or other action) in your community. Make sure to list your event on the website United for Peace. UnitedforPeace also has plenty of exciting action ideas and tips.


3. Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper saying why you oppose the war on Iraq. Your letter should be from one to three paragraphs long. Possible points to make include: the Administration has not presented an adequate justification for going to war; Iraq does not pose a clear and present danger to the US; and an invasion of Iraq would violate international law. You can find out where to send your letters by looking on the letters to the editor page of your local newspaper.


4. Email a friend and ask them to join you in opposing the war. Send this list of things you can do to stop the war to a friend along with a copy of Global Exchange's Top Ten Reasons Why the US Should Not Invade Iraq, available online at Global Exchange.


5. Distribute flyers about why people should stop this war before it starts. Good, heavily trafficked locations include bus stops, subway stations, grocery stores, college campuses, libraries, and churches, among other sites. For a sample flyer, go to United for Peace or call us at 415-255-7296.


6. Organize a weekly vigil against the war at the US federal building in your city, at the office of a Congressperson who supports the war, or at another public place.


7. Call a press conference where local community leaders, religious leaders, veterans, politicians, and others can speak out against the war. Once you have some community leaders who are willing to speak out against the war, determine the time and location of the press conference, send a press release to local media outlets, and then follow up with a phone call to tell editors and reporters what you're doing.


8. Educate yourself about Iraq and the US accusations against Saddam Hussein so you can discuss the issue with friends, family, and even strangers. We won't be able to stop this war if we can't convince people who don't agree with us to come over to our position. Websites that have good information include zmag, The Nation, Common Dreams, Alternet, Pacific News and End the War.


9. Place a "No War on Iraq" banner in a prominent public place. Even if the banner is taken down within a few hours, people will see it while it's up, and they will realize that the opposition to this war is growing. You can hang banners from freeway overpasses and out the windows of buildings in downtown areas. It's easy to make a banner: just use paint or markers on a white sheet.


10. Connect with the local peace group in your community. They will undoubtedly have other ideas for how you can work to stop the war. Some peace groups that have chapters in many cities and towns include Peace Action and the American Friends Service Committee. You can also look at the events section on the United for Peace website, and see what groups are sponsoring events in your community. Or join Global Exchange's moderated email listserve by sending a message to Global Exchange .



Global Exchange
September 10, 2002
(updated December 20, 2002)

Get MSP Together

Caught up on a few bills and other things so I have decided to put all my time and energy into my biz MSP. Since November I worked for DirecTV, or rather a company that works for DirecTV, selling it over the phone. We'd call back folks who had called in asking about it and more often than not they would go on and order it with the callback. The commission was great, but then we had to do cold calls and that totally sucked. Then after that I did phone sales for Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). It was all right, so-so comission but a great cause, but very high pressure sales. I am so not the one to get all stressed out at work.
Anyway, I am focusing on getting the Mama Books out and increasing zine sales. Things are picking up, and I have discovered it's in direct proportion to my efforts. Lightbulb moment I should have been had, huh?

I remember when Iyende was born and a friend of my mother's told me, There will be times when you get so tired. Just worn out from being a mother. I d

I remember when Iyende was born and a friend of my mother's told me, There will be times when you get so tired. Just worn out from being a mother. I didn't really pay any attention to what she said and back then, I was only 17. I had all the zest and energy of the average teenager. Oh, being a teenage mom had it's challenges but I don't remember being physically tired out by motherhood at all.

Maybe I've been so tired lately because I'm older. But 31 isn't that old! Still, some days I get tired just thinking about jumping about with the boys or even a staid walk to the park. When they run around it makes me tired just looking at them, sometimes. And oh my goodness, I was almost in tears this morning because Scott was procrastinating and almost missed the school bus. I truly was getting irate at the thought of having to walk him to school. Though he catches the bus, the school is only a 15 minute walk away, no big deal, and it's not that cold today.

I tell myself that I'm still mildly depressed from the winter season. Also, I still have heart issues. I tell myself it's ok to be tired and a little worn-out, to take things easy. Still, I'm going to talk to my doctor about my low energy levels because I feel it's important to be able to keep up with my babies.

Besides feeling physically tired I'm also feeling a little mentally pressed by motherhood. Wrote some about it on Mamaphonic, check it out here. The kids demand so much of my mental energy, and lately all three have expressed resentment about any time I spend away from them. I know a lot of it has to do with all the time and attention I'm putting into Mama Specific Productions...I am going to have to cut down on the time I spend working and focus more on them. I'm planning to resume our Special Day With Mom days, where I take each of them out alone at least once a month. They enjoyed doing that last year, I shouldn't have stopped. Time became an issue so I started taking all three of them out together, which of course defeated the purpose. While I feel like I hardly ever get any alone time I can't bear for my children to feel neglected, even if that's not the case.

Let The Fun Begin

One of the biggest causes of problems in our marriage is that we quit 'dating' each other. When we first started dating and even when we were just friends we spent a lot of time going out, hanging out with friends, going to parties, etc. Well, not a lot of time because of the kids, but enough. Then after a year of dating we decided to live together. We became a family, me, Brian, and the kids, and this intensified after Todd was born. After 2 years of living together we decided to get married.

I can remember how happy and content we were, and how bored we were with other people when we did go out. We were truly content just staying home and being together, having family fun time with the kids. This was all fine and good, but somewhere along the line we just quit going out together alone, just us two. Oh we'd catch a movie every now and then, like once a year, but that was about it. We stopped socializing together. Most of my friends are not Brian's friends and vice versa. I'm planning a book launch party and when making up the guest list I realized that many of my friends Brian doesn't even know! This makes me sad.

We are both trying new things and trying to get out of our rut. Brian is taking up Scuba diving and I am going to learn to tango. Really, for real tango. I'm also going to start having my friends and Brian's friends over for dinners. It's time we each got to know these people. Most important, we are going to go out this weeked, on a real date. Wish us luck!

Winter Is Still Here

This has been a long, nasty winter. Going on five months! However, I have done ok this winter, I have not let the weather get me down. I considered maybe getting on some type of medication for depression, but I have been lucky that it didn't get that bad. I think that winter depression is somewhat different than 'regular' depression anyway. I'll ask my doctor, I'm going to see her soon.

Tomorrow it's going to be 8 degrees, I heard on the news. That just doesn't even seem possible. But here it is, 8 degrees in March. I've been busying myself with plans for a vegetable garden and planting flower bushes come spring. I also stay busy with MSP work which is never ending and of course, school. I will be done by the end of this year, and I cannot wait. Anyway, the key, I have found, is to stay busy. When I feel inclined to just lay in the bed and pull the covers up, I force myself to get up and get active with stuff that needs to be done. At least, most of the time.