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Activists Ask for Peace Dividend
AUGUSTA -- A coalition of activists gathered Thursday in the State House Hall of Flags to call for an end to wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as a way to help pay for needed state programs.
In the future, Brennan (seen speaking here) said he'd like Maine to be known less for building warships and more for providing a high-quality education. ( photo Roger Leisner The Maine Paparazzi Radio Free Maine) The groups say Maine taxpayers have already spent $2.5 billion on the wars. Their estimate is that Maine makes an annual contribution of $320 million toward those conflicts.
This week, hundreds of citizens have come to the State House to protest proposed cuts in the state budget to help fill a $438 million gap. Many of the cuts are to human services and education.
"We are calling for cuts in war spending as a way to help Maine state government deal with this crisis," said Lisa Savage, representing a group called Code Pink.
Savage, a teacher in central Maine, said she used a personal day to come to the State House for the rally and to protest proposed cuts to education funding.
She said the Bring Our War Money Home coalition has launched a three-month campaign to spread their message across the state. The coalition includes Maine Veterans for Peace, Pax Christi Maine, Peace Action Maine and Waterville Area Bridges for Peace & Justice.
Former Sen. Michael Brennan of Portland said he and a dozen other legislators called for an end to the wars more than three years ago.
"I'm sorry to say we were right in our prognosis three and a half years ago," he said. "The state of Maine and this country is in a more dire situation than it was."
Brennan said cuts to education funding, both K-12 and higher education, have continued to chip away at the quality of schools.
"In the 1970s, this country led the world in the number of people that graduated from high school," he said. "Now we're not even in the top 10."
In the future, Brennan said he'd like Maine to be known less for building warships and more for providing a high-quality education.
"My dream is that we will soon become the state known for building universities, building schools, and educating our young people," he said. "And we become No. 1 in the world in that, not in building ships and destroyers."
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20 Comments so far
Show AllA good and necessary model for peace actions. Very few state politicians make the connection between the treasury drain of endless war and the local cuts. We have to get people to think outside the box that says that one thing is national and one thing is state. Our high and heavy federal taxes DO NOT HAVE TO GO FOR WAR. They could be returned for good social purposes like health and education.
Joe
Sorry, folks. Until we understand and learn to deal with THESE "people," we are not going to be able to take back out country -
http://dissidentvoice.org/2008/05/beware-the-psychopath-my-son/
How many of these people are in your country ? And how many of your own people are in their country and every where, 800 known military bases, unknown number of secret prisons, missals on lands under water and eyes in the sky. Sorry Tarry you Cannot understand people by killing them. You have better chance if you talk to people.
Jeevee
AND YOU HAVE A STILL MUCH BETTER CHANCE OF UNDERSTANDING IF YOU LISTEN TO PEOPLE! Did any of you listen to Bill Moyers last night?
Jeevee
AND YOU HAVE A STILL MUCH BETTER CHANCE OF UNDERSTANDING IF YOU LISTEN TO PEOPLE! Did any of you listen to Bill Moyers last night?
The war industry is truly destroying our country. Even municipal governments are cutting jobs in vital positions including firefighters, police and etc.
Cutting police is not necessary a bad thing, you know? Let's hope they also start cutting back (or cutting them right down the middle) the CIA shills.
Please replicate this excellent model for policy change in your state. We should be demanding, state by state, that OUR money- presently being squandered for military ventures- be brought back home. This money should be funding our schools, libraries and public infrastructure, NOT the purchase of drones and Apache helicopters.
This is a good idea. Thanks, people of Maine, for leading the way on this.
Hats off to Maine! Let their actions roll across this land and end the loss of life and limbs so that we can finally get down to dealing with the ecological imperative and all our social needs.
El-kaada in Yemen Took responsibility for the failed attack on American airliner on Christmas eve, and argued it is a payback to the participation of American war plains in bombing their posts in northern Yemen. The conflict in Yemen is another old tribal feud and political conflict.( read Ameri, http://www.counterpunch.org/amiri06172008.hf thetml). what was our admenisteration answer, more of the same, obey us or else.
This deserves our support
As the old American political saying runs, "As Maine goes, so goes the nation."
I hope this spark causes political prairie fires elsewhere.
There is something we can all do to stop these wars. Stop paying taxes.
Nothing I'd love to do more. But how exactly do I get my employer to stop taking them out of my paycheck? How exactly do I stop the county from selling my house on the courthouse steps for not paying them RE taxes? How do I register my car without providing them proof of payment of my real estate taxes? What do I do when the IRS garnishes whatever little wages I'm making for non-payment? How do I pay just $9.99 for a pair of shoes at Payless without giving them 1 buck worth of taxes? Or how do I exclude the taxes from the check for a meal at a restaurant? Can non-Native American move into reservations?
America has engaged in serial wars since WWll, and the reason is financial. Wars move tremendous amounts of our collective wealth (the budget) into the bank accounts of the few businesses that "really matter" (since they play so vital a role in financing political careers).
Americans in general are OK with this. Think about it: Remember back in the 90s, when Americans expressed outrage that welfare(specifically, AFDC) was bankrupting the country, "bringing taxpayers to their knees." Well, AFDC used a whole 6% of the federal budget. Compare this with the chunk of the budget that goes into military spending every year. Americans are OK with the latter, however, out of fear -- a fear that government exploits very, very well.
Fidel Castro once said that there was no need to attack the US -- between its military aggression and social neglect/inequalities, the US would destroy itself.
Even if he doesn't apply history to himself, Fidel does know history. And when it comes to the USan Empire, he's the expert. No one has been able to foresee the fate of this monster as well as he has. Now, we have Hugo following in his footsteps.
Bless the hearts of these people. Such dreamers they are.
bringourwardollarshome.org
Tools here to join the campaign. Town meeting language for a resolution calling on state legislators to pressure representatives in Congress to stop funding wars. Dirigo!
Video here of Jan. 14 news conference: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThSAZRk7qzM
We so desperately need the jobs that renovating and converting Guantanamo into a world-class hospital and rehabilitation center would provide, not to mention what such a structure would mean to alleviate the heart-rending need of the Haitian victims of the earthquake. If the government could think outside the proverbial box to contemplate such an investment, it would throw a huge stone into the water with ripples felt far and wide. It would also show that government serving the people is the best form of democracy and the best way to bring about peace and justice.