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