Pink Police Take Back America!

CODEPINK's Pink Police are singing at the Take Back America conference in DC, telling presidential candidates to stop funding the war and, with respect to Iran, to take military attack options off the table.

Click here to see our slideshow of Pink Police photos from Take Back America!
That's us with the director of Take Back America, after our debut performance on a tv network!

Stopping Lieberman/Stopping the Next War Now

Medea Benjamin

On June 10, Senator Joe Lieberman said on CBS Face the Nation that he had seen incontrovertible evidence that Iran was training and equipping Iraqi extremists to kill American soldiers and that we should prepare for military strikes against these training bases in Iran. He also decried Iran’s nuclear weapons program, insisting that if we hope to stop their nuclear weapons development, “We can’t just talk to them. If they don’t play by the rules, we’ve got to use our force, and to me that would include taking military action.”

Leslie Angeline, a member of the peace group CODEPINK who had just returned from a citizen diplomacy delegation to Iran, was appalled by the Senator’s remarks. The next day, she began a sit-in at his DC office and decided to fast until the Senator agreed to meet with her and other activists. We also alerted our CODEPINK supporters to call Lieberman’s office, and the phones were ringing off the hook. By the afternoon, the Senator had agreed to a meeting on Thursday, June 14.

On Thursday, a group of 60 people—including members of the Iranian community--showed up for the meeting. The group’s anger only deepened when we were told by Lieberman’s staff that the Senator had changed his mind and was no longer willing to meet.

Tensions mounted in the packed office as the group insisted on seeing the Senator and the staff called the police, who gave a warning that everyone would be arrested if they refused to leave.

Leslie Angeline now on the fifth day of her hunger strike, broke down, sobbing uncontrollably. “I MUST talk to the Senator,” she pleaded. “He has to know that the Iranians are beautiful, warm, kind people, that 70 percent of them are under 30, that they love Americans, that they have never attacked another country in 200 years and have no intention of attacking the United States.” Leslie took out stunning photos of Iranian children that she had taken on her trip. “These are the children who would die if we bombed Iran. We’ve already killed so many Iraqis; we just can’t do this to the people of Iran,” she cried.

The Iranian women in the group began hugging Leslie and crying as well. The emotional exchange, being filmed on camera, must have embarrassed the Senator’s staff. They backed down from the threat of arrests and instead agreed to have their chief of staff, legislative director and Middle East aide meet with three of our team while the others waited in the hallway.

Inside, our group argued for over an hour about how to deal with Iran. The staff claimed that classified briefings proved that Iran is “responsible for the murder of Americans in Iraq”. We asked for and received no evidence backing these claims. We said that the Iraqi government, protected by US forces, was pro-Iran so why would Iran want to kill American soldiers? Our group insisted that even if these concerns about Iran were real, if the US attacked Iran, the Iranian government would certainly retaliate against US soldiers in Iraq—and U.S. deaths would soar.

Our team argued that the timing of Lieberman’s statement on national TV was extremely harmful to the ongoing, delicate negotiations that had begun last month in Baghdad and that it left the perception that Lieberman was trying to scuttle the talks. We noted that confrontational rhetoric from such a prominent U.S. official only strengthens the hand of the hardliners in Iran.

The staff pointed out that on Monday Lieberman reaffirmed his support for US-Iranian negotiations. We replied that his bellicose statements were much more prominent and asked that Lieberman speak out more forcefully in favor of negotiations. They agreed to pass this concern to the Senator.

Our visit to Lieberman’s office with both emotional and well-reasoned arguments, combined with a powerful show of community support and calls from his constituents, seemed to have made an impact and the Senator might think twice in the future before publicly promoting a military attack on Iran. Just to be sure, we assured his aides we represented a much larger constituency and we would be back in greater numbers if the Senator repeats the threat of military force instead of actively supporting dialogue. We also repeated our request to meet directly with the Senator, and we have asked local peace groups and individuals in Connecticut to continue to pressure the Senator in his home state.

What we can learn from the war in Iraq is that once a war has started, it acquires a momentum of its own and becomes harder and harder to stop. That’s why it’s so critical to prevent a war with Iran before it starts, and holding elected officials like Senator Lieberman to account is a key element of stopping the next war now.

Medea Benjamin, cofounder of CODEPINK and Global Exchange, is coauthor of Stop the Next War Now. Global Exchange (www.globalexchange.org) organizes citizen diplomacy delegations to Iran and CODEPINK (www.codepinkalert.org) is pressuring elected officials and the presidential candidates to stop supporting a military attack on Iran. To join us contact info@codepinkalert.org.

Because It's Their Future

Because It’s THEIR Future: Teaching Kids About Democracy
Desiree Fairooz

Since I knew we’d be busy all day Thursday with the action at Senator Lieberman's and the subsequent evening at Ralph Nader's book signing, I decided to get all our props together two nights early for our presentation to the kids at Cesar Chavez Charter School for Public Policy.

The César Chávez Public Charter School was founded in 1998 in response to lagging academic performance and low high school graduation rates among District of Columbia public school students, especially among minority and low-income students. Founder Irasema Salcido wanted to provide inner-city students with a rigorous, high-quality education that would prepare them for college and inspire them to civic be involved in shaping public policy.

So after the all day action at the Hart and Russell Buildings "lurking" for Lieberman and an evening winding down at Busboys and Poets, I checked for directions how to get there via the Metrobus and that I had everything we needed for the kids at Cesar Chavez.

Supplies & gifts we packed were:
· "No Torture" vest
· Impeach Bush poster
· two Pink Police shirts and caps
· Condi, Bush and Gonzo masks
· jailbird outfit (for the war criminals)
· crime-scene tape
a pocket-sized constitution for each student
"Don't Buy Bush's War" bumper stickers
· CODEPINK dvd & buttons
· scrapbook and Sunday’s Washington Post article
· and of course our "bible": the Congressional Directory that contains color photos of all the senators and congressmembers.

When Liz and I left the house the morning of our presentation, it was cool, breezy and slightly overcast—we headed towards the bus stop on 5th and H. We initially took the X2 bus towards the White House, not realizing that the school was in the opposite direction (good thing I asked the bus driver to let us know when we arrived at the Minnesota Metro stop). The metro bus system is just as timely as the D.C. Metro and Liz and I arrived with several minutes to spare.

Cesar Chavez Charter School for Public Policy is located in an area of the District dominated by red brick project houses, called either Paradise or Mayfield depending on which side of the street you’re on.

Directly across the street from the Mayfield housing, stood the school that Liz said reminded her so much of her old junior high school but newer, better maintained, and well-staffed. We found the school to be inviting with its glass doors, wide hallways lined with student work and murals, and its huge floor to ceiling windows that overlooked the parking lot and adjacent tree-lined housing. We entered the office to sign in and were warmly greeted by Tamar Cunha, the other teacher facilitating this special project. Her colleague,Laura Kravis, a young enthusiastic teacher, had invited us via email:

I'm an 8th grade teacher at Cesar Chavez Public Charter School here in DC. We do a 2 week public policy project in June, and my small group (20-ish kids and 2 teachers) is focusing on taking action on the Iraq War. We are using the week of June 11 to do research, gain info about the options before us, and plan action! Early the following week we plan to take various kinds of actions to show the kids how they can make their voices heard. That said, I know Code Pink walks the halls of Congress daily, and I was wondering about two possibilities: 1) Would it be possible for someone from your organization to talk to our kids (perhaps Friday, June 15) about going to Congress to lobby legislators: rationale, logistics, etc.? 2) Then, early the following week, could some or all of my group come to Congress with you to spread their message about the war?

The kids seemingly self disciplined in getting to and from lockers and classrooms greeted us excitedly, whispering "CODEPINK!" and waved. We entered a large airy classroom whose walls were covered with a giant-sized teacher-made map of Iraq that included city names and provinces. Also around the room were several t-charts of pros & cons, Sunni & Shia and other issues involved in the war in Iraq that the students had studied prior to our arrival. Ms. Kravis mentioned that they had spoken to Keith Ellison and other congressmen about Iraq. Liz and I introduced ourselves, explaining where we were from and why we do what we do with CODEPINK. I passed out photos of soldiers who had died in Iraq. Ms. Kravis asked the students why I had done that and explained that it personalized the war. We then showed the CODEPINK dvd, shared our props, inviting brave ones to dress up as Pink Police or Alberto Gonzales. They got a special kick out of putting on the masks. (see photos)

We then prompted the kids to make comments or ask questions. A couple of them had family members either in the military or had a military history. We answered their myriad questions as best we could, "Do you think President Bush knows about CODEPINK.?" asked one. "If Iraq is our friend, wouldn't you want to help your friend out? I would have to help my friend.", said the student with the dreadlocks.

Proving to be the next generation of leaders, we commended Ms. Kravis and Ms. Cunha on their students and for allowing us to share our message. In departing Liz waved, "Study hard, kids! You're our future." And I chimed in, "Hurry up we need you now!"

Senator Lieberman & Peaceful Conflict Resolution

By Marcia Jansen

To see a slideshow of photos of CODEPINK's action at Senator Lieberman's office, click here.

To see a slideshow of Leslie's photos from Iran, click here.

What resulted from Senator Joseph Lieberman's cancellation yesterday of
a scheduled meeting with Leslie Angeline, and other members of CODEPINK,
to discuss his recent remarks on CBS' "Face the Nation", that "…we've
got to be prepared to take aggressive military action against the
Iranians…", was a microcosm of the very dynamic we had come to protest,
the belief that ultimately you must use force to resolve conflict, and
our call for a diplomatic resolution of the conflict with Iran.

Senator Lieberman's cancellation of yesterday's scheduled meeting was an
acting out of the very U.S. policy which leads to war, death and
destruction – the refusal to talk to those with whom you disagree,
refusal to talk to your opponents, your enemy.

What followed Senator Lieberman's refusal to talk with us, demonstrates
the power of a willingness to be open – a willingness to talk to one
another.

Sixty people, from around the country, including leaders from the
Iranian community, came to Senator Lieberman's office at the original
meeting time of 4:30 p.m., yesterday afternoon. After all sixty of us
completely filled the reception area of Senator Lieberman's office,
Medea Benjamin, co-founder of CODEPINK, again asked that Senator
Lieberman meet with us, as originally scheduled, and recounted the
series of events that led up to the cancellation of the meeting.

The receptionist in Senator Lieberman's office kept insisting that we
leave and we kept insisting on meeting with Senator Lieberman. Finally,
we were given a warning by a member of the Capitol police to leave or
face arrest.

Then the phone rang. The receptionist answered the phone, left her desk
and went into another room. She returned with Senator Lieberman's chief
of staff who again told us the meeting had been cancelled and said we
must leave.

Leslie Angeline began to talk about her recent travels in Iran and the
beautiful people she met, and in a very emotional plea begged the United
States not bomb the people of Iran, 70% who are under the age of 30.

Senator Lieberman's chief of staff was visibly touched by Leslie's plea.
When Leslie was finished speaking, Medea Benjamin asked the chief of
staff if there was a high ranking staff member who would meet with a
delegation from the group. What resulted from that request was a
meeting which lasted over an hour with three members from our group and
Senator Lieberman's chief of staff, legislative director, and an aide on
the Middle East.

Yesterday we came to Senator Lieberman's office to advocate for a
resolution of the conflict with Iran, through diplomacy not war. What
subsequently played out in Senator Lieberman's office was a powerful
example that conflicts can be resolved peacefully.

The conflict yesterday, in Senator Lieberman's office, was resolved
through the power of persistence, words, good will, the power of
humanity and a willingness, on the part of everyone involved, to be open
and respectful of one another, a willingness to come face to face, a
willingness to negotiate and compromise and come to some agreement, some
understanding.

The principles and values that brought about the peaceful resolution to
the conflict yesterday in Senator Lieberman's office are the same
principles and values that can bring about a diplomatic resolution to
the conflict with Iran.

An Afternoon Without Senator Lieberman

Kit Kimberly

All our careful planning and work to open a dialogue with Senator Liebermanseemingly came to naught today when we arrived at his office to find our meeting cancelled. Well, that's not strictly true, as someone had calledMedea early in the day to tell her that, "We heard you're not coming for a meeting but to do a sit-in and a hunger strike."

Medea asked where they got that information.

"I'm reading it here on your website," the aide told her.

"Look at the date," said our fearless leader, conciliatorily. "That wasMonday. You scheduled the meeting, we left, and we're coming back for themeeting today."

Silence on the phone, then, "Just a minute." She then came back to say,"The meeting is still cancelled."

But many of us did not get this news. Mila and I, who met on the street on our way to the Hart Building, had not gotten the word. Others, also, were there at the designated meeting point outside the Second Street entrance to the Hart Building. Although they knew about the cancellation, Iranian-Americans Ross Pourzal, director of the Iranian group against US military interventionin Iran (CASMI) and Iranian peace advocate Marjan Shalla , were there as well. Medea gathered us together and suggested we stick with our original plan: A peaceful, diplomatic attempt to open dialogue with someone with whom we had a conflict on relations with Iran—just, in fact, the kind of tactful position we want someone likeSenator Lieberman (and other brave members of congress) to take towardsIran.

Inside the building were Liz, Desiree, Diana, Susan and hunger-striker Leslie, dressed in a beautiful, shimmering pink gown. Leslie is my roommate in the Pink House, so I know she has not been sleeping well—between lack of food and lack of sleep, she seemed quite fragile. We gave her lots of hugs and encouragement before heading up to the 7th floor.

There, Liz and I gathered signatures of media members Kathleen, Barry andAlex from WhyNotNews and Adrian Shanker from Faith In Public Life. We looked around for Matt Small from the Associated Press or Ryan Grim from Politico—then Medea told us that someone from the AP had called theSenator's office and been told there "was no meeting." Peace activists lined the hall on both sides, all the way from the elevators to Mr.Lieberman's office—at least 60 people were there for an action calledtogether the night before. Marjan had brought tapestries and linens as gifts from Iran for the Senator; Desiree had one of Leslie's photos of the beautiful Iranian children she met on her Citizen Diplomacy visit in a pinkframe, signed [heart] CodePink. We crowded into the office like well-disciplined sardines, with Medea, Leslie, Ross Pourzal and Robert Nieman, director of Just Foreign Policy, at the front asking why our meeting was cancelled. Kathleen and Barry's cameras whizzed as Lieberman's staff looked uncomfortably at each other and us (Igotta say, though, that front desk woman is competent and never lost hercool. She must have a tough job, defending that citadel).

Capitol police, only nominal when we first arrived, multiplied quickly.Word soon came that we were being asked to leave; if we did not leavevoluntarily, we would be arrested. We CodePinkers had already discussedthis possibility; Leslie was prepared to be arrested and go to jail—although five days into her hunger strike and sleep deprived, her fragility was a worry.

This fragility soon became the strength of the afternoon, however, as the Senator's Chief of Staff Clarine Riddle came out and asked us to leave. Leslie, speaking clearly but with great passion, said that she had come to confront the Senator about his remarks on using military force in Iran."These are the most warm, lovely, friendly people I have ever met," she told Ms. Riddle; her chin trembled and her voice broke. "Senator Lieberman's rhetoric is unbelievable. This is a nation that has not attacked anyone inmore than 200 years. How can the Senator even say such a thing?" Leslie's pain and sincerity were palpably, wrenchingly honest; even Ms. Riddle wasobviously moved by her words.

"I'm sure they are wonderful, they are beautiful children," the Chief of Staff began, unable to avoid the photos in front of her, "but you do not have an appointment with the Senator …" Around the room, calls of "Why not?" and "We did have one … what happened?" broke out. Sighing, the woman at the front desk picked up her phone and the police began to move in and speak.

Before they could finish issuing the warning, however, Medea spoke up and asked, "Would it be possible for just three of us—Leslie and two others—to meet with senior staff? Do you think that could be arranged?"

Ms Riddle nearly nodded, then said, "We can consider that option; but untilthen all of you have to move outside." Slowly but efficiently, we eased our way out of the office and lined back up against the walls. Capitol Police stood along the other end of the hall and watched us carefully, but there was no tension in the air. Medea went to the middle of the crowd and called the teach-in together. Individuals with knowledge or experience of Iran or the issues were invited to speak. Many did.

Several young Iranian-Americans—one who had only first visited the country of her ancestors a short while before—spoke about the love of Iranian youths for US freedoms and opportunities. Like Leslie, they pointed out the relative youth of Iran: 70% of the country is younger than 30; and how to attack their country would shock and bewilder them. Others addressed the fact that bombing Iran would not make the Middle East,the US, or the world any safer. To increase violence and warfare would decrease Iranian stability, and Middle Eastern stability in general. CodePink Training and Logistics Coordinator Rae Abileah spoke about how further war in the Middle East would only further threaten, not secure, Israel'sstability.

Mike Zmolek spoke about the report from Physicians for Social Responsibility that estimates the damage from a nuclear attack on Iran. His fact sheet cites plans for as many as 400 nuclear weapons against specific Iranian locations. The strikes would cause exponentially more damage than those on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing up to 4 million people immediately, with nearly 11 million suffering extreme effects from fallout, including "radiation sickness, future excess cancer deaths, genetic abnormalities … high rates of stillbirths, miscarriages, malignancies and hypothyroidism"—and the planned strikes would also destroy nearly all the local medical facilities.

One by one, many people took the floor—WhyNot captured most of it on film—to talk about how illogical and pointless a military on Iran would be. I took a deep breath and talked about my former student of academic English, Lalahvash, a young Iranian woman getting her PhD biochemistry in Australia.Then I pointed out that the only people who were benefiting from these wars were those who make the weapons and the private contractors. I suggested that as voters and citizens, we need to start investigating why these elected representatives take such irrational stands, and how closely they must be tied to the defense industry.

The discussions were heartfelt and informative, and continued until there was movement behind the Senator's door. After some initial shuffling,Leslie, Ross and Robert emerged from the inner sanctum. Their announcement was, generally, good news. Although, Ross noted, the staff members did argue in circles, they seemed genuinely interested and willing to take their findings back to Senator Lieberman. Leslie in particular seemed relieved and felt that they had listened. "They were open," she nodded, herself-possession restored. "I think we made an impact."

After some group photos and an inspiring close by Medea, we headed out—down to Busboys and Poets where Ralph Nader was speaking. Leslie felt encouraged enough by the meeting to break her hunger strike; and we spent the evening dissecting our success in the society of friends. As Medea said, "Sometimes, not getting the meeting is even better."

Action at Lieberman’s office on 6-14-07

By Susan O.

Earlier in the week, Lieberman had called for a bombing of the country of Iran. This inspired Leslie, who was staying at Code Pink House, to go on a fast until she could talk to Lieberman herself about these threats he made. Leslie had just returned from a trip to Iran with Fellowship of Reconciliation.

Here is what the foreign press reported on Lieberman’s comments:

From Asia Times: Bomb, bomb, bomb Iran

US Senator Joseph Lieberman's call for cross-border bombing raids into Iran appears to be the culmination of a two-week campaign by proponents of war to put the military option center-stage in the US debate over Iran once more. The immediate effect of reigniting the let's-bomb-Iran discussions is the undercutting of the recently initiated US-Iran talks over Iraq, which in turn will cause the military confrontation with Iran to be viewed in a new light. Lieberman out-hawked the administration of President George W Bush on the television news show Face the Nation this past Sunday by calling for "aggressive military action against the Iranians", including "a strike over the border into Iran". Repeating accusations - by now all but abandoned by the Bush administration - of Iranian complicity in the killing of US soldiers in Iraq, the Connecticut senator's comments caused a storm on Monday. Suddenly, the military option against Iran was once more at the center of the United States' Iran debate.

Yes, the world has noticed that Lieberman is calling for the bombing of Iran. Didn’t we learn in kindergarten not to threaten other people with harm?

Leslie and some other Code Pink women went to Lieberman’s office on Monday, June 11, to hold a fast and sit in until Lieberman agreed to meet with them directly. The office staff arranged a meeting for 4:30 PM on Thursday for Leslie and two others. This meeting was arranged directly with Lieberman.

During the week, there was lots of research done on Iran (like: Iran has not invaded or attacked another country in 200 years, except in response to other country’s aggression.) They researched comments made about Iran by Lieberman and other presidential candidates for 2008. There were pictures printed up, some laminated, one framed for this office visit. There were cloth signs made, saying things like “Iranians are my sisters” and “Don’t Iraq Iran” that people could pin to their shirts. They did press work, and they did outreach to local activists. Code Pink told their email contacts about what was going to happen. On the morning of June 14, we got word that the meeting was canceled.

After some discussion, the Code Pink women decided to go ahead with going to Lieberman’s office at the original appointment time. There were between 50 to 60 people there, and I counted eleven cops at one point that were just around me. Karendc did some live blogging on the event on Daily Kos from the hallway.

Just before 5 PM, staff at Lieberman’s office agreed to meet with three people (Leslie, Robert Naimen of Just Foreign Policy, and another guy whose name I do not have). Out in the hallway, the rest of us started a discussion on Iran and Iraq. One Iranian-American said he was embarrassed when he went to Tehran because of America’s actions. Someone spoke of their trip to Iran with Fellowship of Reconciliation. Code Pink encouraged people to sign their list and include contact information. An Iranian-American woman spoke of her love for both countries. She also commented on how our country is becoming despised around the world and how Iraq shows that war does not work. Medea read what Lieberman had said – Medea pointed out that Lieberman claims he has irrefutable evidence that Iran is making nuclear bombs, and she asked “where have we heard that before?” An activist from Portland was there and spoke about sanctuary movement for US soldiers who are going into the Iraq war.

A man named Ri’ed commented on WMDs in the USA. He said as a Muslim, he does not see a future for his children in this country, mainly due to financial reasons. He had gone to India and learned about Gandhi, and he says he will not pay taxes for war. Rae spoke as an Israeli-American and said that war on Iran will not make Israel safer, and as a Jew she found Lieberman’s statements outrageous. An Iranian said that Lieberman claimed that governments in the Middle East are concerned about Iran, and that these governments would be puppet governments. Robert Naiman (Just World News) said that it was very unfortunate timing in Lieberman’s comments, since we are just starting dialogue with Iran in Iraq recently. This was very counter-productive. He said that Lieberman is attempting to sabotage these efforts. He reported that Lieberman’s staff said this was not the intention, but this could be the consequence.

Leslie reported that in the meeting, she asked Lieberman to go to Iran, and she further asked that Lieberman prove that Iran is killing US soldiers. She stressed PROVING IT because she said that much of what has been told us about Iran is just a lie. She also stressed that the people of Iran were warm and welcoming to her without exception. She shared photographs that she took in Iran and said that we need diplomacy, not warmongering. She was very emotional. Leslie had done five days of fasting at this point.

Medea said that she felt we had brought a warm heart to the cold halls of congress and that she felt we were heard, thanks to all the people that were there. At the end, there were still 35 people in the hallway, but some had already left. The photo above is taken outside Lieberman’s office of some of the participants.

UPDATE: The US House of Representatives passed a non-binding resolution that asks the UN Security Council to charge Ahmadinejad with violating the 1948 Genocide Convention, because he reported said that Israel should be wiped off the map. From an explanation by Prof. Juan Cole, this meant that Ahmadinejad felt that the country of Israel (not the citizens) did not have a right to exist and the “map” of the area should be restored to its former name, meaning that Israel would again be called Palestine. I do not agree with Ahmadinejad about the status of Israel or what it should be “restored” to – or to calling for the end of the Israel government. However, this is not calling for the killing of the people that live there. It is calling for the end of the government of Israel, which reminds me A LOT of the calling of certain states an “Axis of Evil” and calling for the end of the Saddam regime. What is really rich in this article is that it claims this is a step to use the instruments of international law against Teheran!! Like anyone in the US Congress ever cared about INTERNATIONAL LAW! Why, our press does not even know that such a thing exists! And what about Lieberman and McCain calling for the bombing of Iran – isn’t that a violation of international law? Isn’t that worse than calling for the end of the Israeli government? When did Ahmadinejad call for the invasion or bombing of Israel in public? Never, as far as I know.

Hypocrisy lives.

Florida campaign born during Mother's Day in DC

By Deidra Lynch
I must confess, in planning for my trip to the CODEPINK House in DC, I was just a little bit nervous about what to expect with that many women and that few bathrooms. But I am very proud to say that I never heard a negative remark (unless it was about our government representatives) or saw a single miff between any of the 25 to 50 women that were living or visiting the house daily. Well, only one, and it was tiny and on the last day there. The energy of this diverse and beautiful group of women was contagious and my week was full of delightful surprises, learning moments, lots of walking and political activist experience that was inspiring and applicable back in my own home state. I truly wish I could be there in Washington D.C. this week to meet all the new guests who are attending the first group of the Summer Training Sessions at the CODEPINK House and I am very excited to see what blossoms from their experiences.

During my first three days which started out with a community potluck, I was able to participate in the Women's Congress, help create beautiful props for some of our upcoming actions, participate in the Family Peace Festival with my eight year old daughter on Mother’s Day, learn how to “not” be arrested in a non-violent civil disobedience training presented by seasoned veterans and attorneys to answer our legal questions.

On Monday, we went to Cindy’s rally at Lafayette park and I walked around with a wide pink roll of duct tape, writing the death count for the day and tearing it off for people to stick on their shirts. It was a really good way to get a feel for the crowd and I could certainly tell who was with us and who was not, though the latter was small. I

After the rally we all marched to the Capitol and watched those who chose to volunteer, sit down with Cindy Sheehan in the street and raise the flag to half mast. The rest of us stood on the corners, cheering them on and singing songs of solidarity as the police peacefully arrested them one-by-one and loaded them into wagons. We returned to the house for the traditional, eating of Impeachment Pie by all.

That night after dinner was over I made a large pot of potato corn chowder for our jailbirds who were still being detained due to computer problems in the precinct. As groups of two to four women arrived home periodically during the evening, we offered them soup and bread and listened to their stories. At 4:30am, I washed the last dishes and went to bed for a few hours.

I woke up wondering how we could have done all those things in only four days and how we were going to fit the rest in to only three more days. I had emailed my representatives as soon as I knew my travel dates and secured tours to the Library of Congress, the Capitol and an invite to the weekly Constituent Coffee from our Senator Bill Nelson.

When we took the tour of the Capitol on Tuesday, given by Senator Nelson’s aide, there were several things that were said by his staff that were quite upsetting to me. When I asked if Senator Nelson was going to vote to fund the war (which he later did), the staff member told me that he didn't know but that more than 50% of the people calling in to the office, emailing and writing letters were in support of keeping the troops there and supportive of the surge. I was taken aback and quickly retorted that "those Republicans calling and writing were NOT the folks who had elected the Senator to office". I realized then that we needed the progressives in Florida to let Senator Nelson know that this war is unacceptable and that he needs to take a leadership role in getting it stopped. We thought he understood our message in November but apparently, he needs to hear it from us again.

After dinner that night, I had a long conversation with Lydia, the CODEPINK Tallahassee Coordinator. She and I were going together the next morning to the Constituent Coffee with Senator Nelson and we wanted to review the questions we would ask of him. Not knowing this was just going to be a short report by the Senator and then a photo op for those attending, we went prepared to discuss issues and we were very disappointed that he didn't have time to talk with us or take questions from the group. We did have a good but short conversation with his aide and we asked that she tell him that we had been trying to meet with him for a year and that we hoped that he would do that soon, either in DC or back at home.

We then headed to the Senate buildings to meet up with the CODEPINK Team for the final push before the vote that morning on the Feingold amendment that called for the troops to be out by April 1, 2008. Little did I know that these last hours would be my most memorable and so personally empowering. I began to walk with Medea for the next hour or more and was constantly amazed and inspired by her professionalism and her genuineness when talking to the Senators. If she saw a senator walk out of a door way, she would rush over to speak with them, extending her hand and her warm gracious smile. Keeping pace with her was breathless, but once Medea had made contact, she would completely calm her energy down to a quiet and persuasive woman with a strength in her voice that I have not heard often in my life. When Medea came upon Senator Lieberman, she smiled and said, “I know we don't agree on this matter, but if we are to ever come to any solutions then we must begin with discussion”. He actually smiled at her and then applauded our efforts. It was very inspiring and an amazing opportunity for my daughter as well.

That night, Lydia and I again discussed Senator Nelson and how disappointed we are in his representation of the state of Florida. We were both on fire from the week's actions and we promised each other that we would work together this summer to make sure that he hears us loud and clear. And so, a new campaign was born. The hardest part of the week was saying good bye to all our new friends but I was anxious to return home and put into action some of the things I had learned here in DC. I would encourage anyone who really wants to work for peace, to learn about the political processes, creative lobbying and just have an amazing time, to make plans now for the summer trainings being held at the CODEPINK House in DC. I would be there every week if I could! And here's hoping that the each group that passes through those rooms will be as empowered as the women from Florida were during Mother's Day week.

Now, for the rest of the story. Lydia and I have been working furiously for the last few weeks. We've organized and energized an entire coalition of peace groups from the state of Florida to "Focus on Nelson" this summer. On Monday, June 11th, Lydia began a 10 day tour of the state, visiting every one of Senator Nelson's eight offices. She has and will continue to be joined by other CODEPINK members as well as folks from over 40 supporting organizations for peace. In conjunction with each two hour meeting, we are asking supporters across the state to phone Senator Nelson’s offices and tell him to "Stop the War Now", empowering those who can't attend but want to make a difference.

Farida, our CODEPINK webmistress has worked with us to create an awesome CODEPINK Florida page that has the “Focus on Nelson” campaign information, talking points, meeting schedules and the latest info for us to use this summer. We are going to kick it up a notch in July with statewide telethons, “Home for the Holiday” ballot boxes and if Senator Nelson votes for war again in July, we intend to camp out at his house and/or his offices. And so hopefully, when the Florida campaign born during Mother' Day in DC is done, Senator Nelson will have heard us, loud and clear!

CODEPINK Florida Spotlight: “Focus on Nelson”
http://www.codepinkalert.org/article.php?list=type&type=312

Florida For Peace
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FloridaForPeace/