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    An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder

    Dear Common Dreams reader,

    I’ve never been more alarmed about the state of our democracy. The U.S. is sliding toward authoritarianism faster than ever, while corporate media turns a blind eye. That’s why Common Dreams exists—to cover the news that others won’t. Every day, our independent team works to fulfill our mission: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.

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    - Craig Brown, Co-founder

    An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder

    I’ve never been more alarmed about the state of our democracy. The U.S. is sliding toward authoritarianism faster than ever, while corporate media turns a blind eye. That’s why Common Dreams exists—to cover the news that others won’t. Every day, our independent team works to fulfill our mission: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.

    But here’s the truth: we can only do this with your support. We refuse corporate ads and keep our site free for everyone because access to critical news should never depend on ability to pay. That means our survival depends on readers like you. Please donate today and help us reach our goal of raising $100,000 by September 1.

    Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most.

    - Craig Brown, Co-founder

    Common Dreams. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.
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    bath iron works

    With Regards to the Christening of the USS Patrick Gallagher

    With Regards to the Christening of the USS Patrick Gallagher

    Because we strongly believe, nay absolutely know, that the U.S. does not need another warship.

    Dud Hendrick
    Aug 29, 2024

    To Whom It May Concern:

    Because I have twice visited the West Bank and know the personal stories of 40 year-old Palestinian men who were imprisoned as boys for simply yelling at Israeli soldiers—and beaten and dehumanized for months before being released without trial;

    And because I now know that those horrific, forever haunting experiences were and remain commonplace for Palestinian youth and are symptomatic of a world where, “we (Israelis) believe they are worth more than they” (Palestinians);

    And because by paying close attention to non-main-stream American and foreign media I know the horrific truth of Gaza;

    And because I have a good sense that when thousands are killed under months of ceaseless bombing and thousands more remain buried under the rubble yet to be found, the crime rises beyond war to become, inarguably, a “genocide”;

    And because I know of the influence of AIPAC and U.S. defense industry corporations on U.S. Congress members and, hence, on American foreign policy;

    And because I know well that the siege of Gaza could not continue without U.S. cover and support;

    And because, as not much more than an adolescent, as a consequence of the fiction fed me by a conventional education, I volunteered to go off to Vietnam;

    And because I know that, as a consequence of that war of choice, two to three million Vietnamese were killed in defense of their country---and that 2-3 million others are institutionalized today unable to take care of themselves as 2nd and 3rd generation victims of Agent Orange;

    And, because I also mourn the 58,281 Americans commemorated on “the wall”, lost in that war, generally, perhaps, believing the same fiction I had;

    And because I know that millions, yes millions, of innocents have died in my lifetime, arguably victims of American wars of choice, endorsed and promoted by the American defense industry, in Grenada, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Panama, Somalia, Bosnia, Kosovo, Syria, Yemen, etc., (hardly an all-inclusive list);

    And because I and others, on many occasions since the Berrigan brothers, in a Prince of Peace Plowshares action on February 12, 1997, have returned again and again to protest other
    christenings” at Bath;

    And because we strongly believe, nay absolutely know, that the U.S. does not need more warships, but rather that General Dynamics ought to be “converting” to the manufacture of “green” technologies.

    It is for these reasons, in the spirit of the “Plowshares” movement, we chose to inconvenience the so-called “christening” attendees on July 27th—that they might give pause to consider the merits of our actions. That they too, might join us in a virtual revolution—to turn away from violence, to demand that our country do the same, to be a force for cooperation among the brotherhood of nations, rather than endorsing endless militarism.

    For these reasons I chose to join like-minded fellow citizens in our efforts to make more widely known our nation’s reckless conduct. I proclaim my innocence and will be very pleased to have the opportunity to defend that position in court.

    Not in my name!

    Dud Hendrick
    Deer Isle, Maine
    USNA Graduate —1963
    USAF Officer — 1963-1967

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    us military

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