July, 15 2015, 01:45pm EDT
Military Vets Sponsor 'Uncensored' Counter U.S. Drone War TV Commercial on CNN, FoxNews, ESPN Near Cannon AFB/Special Ops Drone Control Center in Clovis, New Mexico
A graphic and controversial 15-second television commercial - showing images of children killed in drone attacks - began airing in July uncensored in Clovis, NM near Cannon AFB, a major U.S. drone control site. The spot has been censored or modified by cable providers near other U.S. drone control centers where it has run over the past few months.
CNN, FoxNews, ESPN and other cable networks locally are carrying the uncensored spot throughout July.
CLOVIS, NM
A graphic and controversial 15-second television commercial - showing images of children killed in drone attacks - began airing in July uncensored in Clovis, NM near Cannon AFB, a major U.S. drone control site. The spot has been censored or modified by cable providers near other U.S. drone control centers where it has run over the past few months.
CNN, FoxNews, ESPN and other cable networks locally are carrying the uncensored spot throughout July.
The uncensored paid advertisement, which calls on drone operators to "Please Refuse to Fly," is being carried by local cable provider Suddenlink. It can be found here: https://youtu.be/8mdu4bzWgd0. A second spot can be found at https://youtu.be/ibrCbiLyKZc.
In other markets cable providers have permitted the ad to be shown only after 10 p.m., or not at all. In these cases a censored ad has been shown that does not include images of dead children, although it does criticize the deadly U.S. drone attacks. All anti-drone TV commercials can be found at www.KnowDrones.com.
In Clovis, both versions of the commercial will be shown at various times throughout the day, as requested by the ad sponsor, KnowDrones.com, representing U.S. military veterans. More than 16 spots per day (328 spots in all) are due to run in July.
"We are very pleased Suddenlink is running the uncensored version of the ad," said Nick Mottern, KnowDrones coordinator, "Through the images of children killed in drone attacks American people can see the illegality and immorality of the U.S. policy of systematically killing people without due process."
Cannon AFB is home to the 3rd and 33rd Special Operations Squadrons that are reported to control MQ-9 Reaper drones in the skies over Afghanistan, Somalia and Yemen and possibly elsewhere. https://medium.com/war-is-boring/u-s-air-force-drones-spend-weeks-man-h...
The "Refuse to Fly" message in the ad is reinforced by a letter from about 50 veterans to drone operators urging "drone pilots, sensor operators and support teams to refuse to play any role in drone surveillance/assassination missions." https://www.knowdrones.com/2015/07/veterans-urge-drone-operators-to-refu...
In addition, Jim Winkler, President of the National Council of Churches, published a letter on July 1, 2015 saying that drone warfare "immoral" and calling on President Obama and the Congress to respond to a call by nearly 30 religious leaders to stop U.S. drone attacks.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-winkler/why-people-of-faith-oppos_b_7...
All video clips and footage in the advertisements come from the independent short documentary film, Wounds of Waziristan (www.woundsofwaziristan.com), directed by filmmaker and journalist, Madiha Tahir.
Veterans For Peace is a global organization of Military Veterans and allies whose collective efforts are to build a culture of peace by using our experiences and lifting our voices. We inform the public of the true causes of war and the enormous costs of wars, with an obligation to heal the wounds of wars. Our network is comprised of over 140 chapters worldwide whose work includes: educating the public, advocating for a dismantling of the war economy, providing services that assist veterans and victims of war, and most significantly, working to end all wars.
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Trump Tariffs Have Cost Average US Family Nearly $1,200 So Far
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As President Donald Trump persistently claims the economy is working for Americans, Democrats in the US House and Senate on Thursday released an analysis that puts a number to the recent polling that's found many Americans feel squeezed by higher prices: $1,200.
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The Democrats, including Ranking Member Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM), and Rep. Sean Casten (D-Ill.), analyzed official US Treasury Department data on the amount of tariff revenue collected since the beginning of Trump's second term as he's imposed tariffs across the European Union and on dozens of other countries—some as high as 50%.
The White House has insisted the tariffs on imports will "pry open foreign markets" and force exporters overseas to pay more, resulting in lower prices for US consumers.
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At first, US families were paying an average of less than $60 in tariff costs when Trump began the trade war in February and March.
But that amount shot up to more than $80 per family in April when he expanded the tariffs, and monthly costs have steadily increased since then.
In November, a total of $24.04 billion was paid by consumers in tariff costs—or $181.29 per family.
“While President Trump promised that he would lower costs, this report shows that his tariffs have done nothing but drive prices even higher for families."
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Clausing estimated that the tariffs will amount "to an annual tax increase of about $1,700 for an average household" if they stay at current levels, while Trump's decision to lower tariffs on goods such as meat, vegetables, fruits, and coffee last month amounted to just $35 in annual savings per household.
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The House is about to vote on authorizing $901 billion in military spending, on top of the $156 billion included in the Big Beautiful Bill.70% of global military spending already comes from the US and its major allies.www.stephensemler.com/p/congress-s...
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— Stephen Semler (@stephensemler.bsky.social) December 10, 2025 at 1:16 PM
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Others sounded the alarm over the Trump administration's apparent march toward a war on Venezuela—which has never attacked the US or any other country in its nearly 200-year history but is rich in oil and is ruled by socialists offering an alternative to American-style capitalism.
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The NDAA should invest in our military, not target minority communities for exclusion.While we're grateful that most anti-LGBTQI+ provisions were removed, the GOP kept one anti-trans provision in the final bill—and that's one too many.We're committed to repealing it.
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— Congressional Equality Caucus (@equality.house.gov) December 10, 2025 at 3:03 PM
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