The story goes that if you put a frog into boiling water, he will immediately jump out, but if you put the frog into cold water and heat it slowly enough he won’t notice the change and will be boiled alive.
Until recently, I would not have believed that an American citizen could be arrested and jailed for voicing opposition to the political views of U.S. senators at a public venue, but it happened to me at Upper Senate Park in Washington D.C. two weeks ago. I countered pro-war remarks being made by several prominent senators, simply with my voice—no amplification, no profanity and no slander. In recent weeks friends of mine have been arrested for putting up anti-war posters, arrested trying to access their senator’s office, sentenced to 5 days in jail for speaking out in protest at another political rally, and one woman who was jailed overnight because the police said she had a “stay away” order from the Capitol building—she didn’t.

So now I am a convict. I was arrested, handcuffed, searched, shackled, interrogated, charged, imprisoned, arraigned, prosecuted, and tried. The trial process took 5 days, and the jury deliberated for 12 hours before finding me guilty. The judge sentenced me to 5 days incarceration, suspended, 6 months probation, $200 assessment (to be paid to the Victims of Violent Crime Fund), and 100 hours of community service. What did I do…? I stood in the gallery of the House of Representatives and shouted opposition to the Military Commissions Act for 29 seconds.

Any day now the number of American servicemembers killed in Iraq will reach 3000. Picture in your mind what 3000 people looks like. Each one of those 3000 people had friends and family who cared about them, and people they cared about. They each had stories and plans, senses of humor and opinions, hobbies and interests. They each had a life. Now take that number and multiply it by 10. Multiply it by 10 again. Double it. That number is a conservative estimate of the number of Iraqis who have died since the U.S. invaded Iraq on March 19th, 2003.

It's been called the "Agent Orange" of the Iraq War. It's extremely toxic, illegal according to international law, and certainly immoral. What is it? Depleted Uranium. So why does the U.S. use it? It is cheap and effective.
Remember the term "Gulf War Syndrome?" Those "inexplicable" symptoms that so many of the first Iraq war presented? It's not a mystery--it's depleted uranium poisoning. Add those cases to the sharp increase in Iraqi cancer rates, birth defects and tumors, and it is brutally apparent that there is a problem. But the U.S. continues to use these munitions with impunity.

Suzanne Swift is the Army specialist who went AWOL last spring, refusing to return to Iraq with seniors who she claims had sexually abused her during her first tour of duty there. SPC Swift lives in Eugene but is confined at Ft. Lewis, WA, pending legal proceedings.
On September 12, a group from Camp Democracy in Washington, DC, including our own BC Dem, Leah Bolger, visited the offices of Rep. Peter DeFazio on Capitol Hill. They demanded that he initiate an investigation into Suzanne's treatment and that he call on the Army to grant Suzanne an honorable discharge with full medical benefits to treat her post traumatic stress disorder which has resulted from her exposure to the horrors of war in Iraq and from her rape and sexual harrassment.

OK....now we can all either a) hunker down, hug our favorite pillow and wait for the dust to settle, or b) 'get on the bus' and rally behind our brothers and sisters in CT.
Unless you've been napping the past few days and weeks, you've witnessed an upheaval in our sacred Dem hierarchy. Yes, Ned Lamont has unseated a Dem icon. No need to rehash the reasons why. This post is a simple call to action.

Earl Blumenauer seems to have found some extra money, and he wants Oregon voters to help him decide which candidates to give it to. Go immediately to http://www.earlblumenauer.com/cgi-bin/housedems.cgi
and cast your vote!

Today is Day 13 of the Troops Home Fast. I am very pleased that we have been able to maintain a daily public presence in front of the courthouse from 10am to 7pm, and we have had at least one person fasting every day. Bart fasted for 5 days straight, and I have not broken my fast yet. It has been gratifying to meet strangers who want to participate by either pledging to fast, or by sitting at the Troops Home Fast table, gathering petition signatures, handing out information, and keeping our public presence going--but where are the Dems? It is going to take a lot more people to keep this thing going--please see if you can find time to sit at the table for a couple of hours or more. Participate in the Peace movement!

"A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history." --Mahatma Gandhi
Today, Independence Day, is Day 1 of the Troops Home Fast. The women of the peace activist group Code Pink are staging a hunger strike from July 4th until September 21st, the International Day of Peace. From 10 am to 7 pm they will be maintaining a public fast in front of the White House.

"I refuse to be silent any longer. I refuse to be party to an illegal and immoral war against people who did nothing to deserve our aggression. My oath of office is to protect and defend America's laws and its people. By refusing unlawful orders for an illegal war, I fulfill that oath today." Those are the words of Lt. Ehren Watada, who is the first commissioned officer to publicly refuse deployment to Iraq, and to do so based on the illegality of the war. Veterans for Peace strongly endorses Lt. Watada's courageous and principled action, and I urge everyone to come out and show your support on Tuesday, June 27th which will be a National Day of Action. There will be a rally at 6:00 pm (just after the regular peace rally) in front of the Benton County Courthouse. Please go to www.ThankYouLt.org for more information, and signs and fliers you can download.

IP 51 is a prospective ballot measure for which the Oregon Right to Lifers are currently gathering signatures. This initiative would put our teenage daughters’ health and safety at risk by requiring 48 hour advance parental notification for teenagers 15, 16 and 17 to obtain an abortion. Planned Parenthood has studies to show that only a small fraction of 15-17 year olds do not tell their parents that they are seeking an abortion, and those girls are usually the victims of sexual abuse and/or violence who decline to do so out of fear for their own welfare and safety. Additionally, studies show that when the law does require parental notification, this small group of victimized girls will often run away, seek an illegal and unsafe abortion, try to abort themselves, or even commit suicide. If they choose to continue the pregnancy, they rarely seek proper pre-natal care. If you are approached by a petitioner for this dangerous measure, please “Decline to Sign.”

Well, it shows that persistence pays off. After several letters, phone calls and e-mails, I believe that it was a chance personal encounter with Congresswoman Hooley that pushed her to finally sign on as a co-sponsor of HR 543 (a discharge petition for HJR 55, the "Homeward Bound" Act which would require President Bush to develop and implement a plan to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq.)....

On March 29, the Democratic congressional leadership unveiled their new plan entitled "Real Security." It is an excellent expression of the Party's vision for a truly secure America.
Unfortunately the press conference to roll out the plan was buried behind TV coverage of the President's latest speech attempting to bolster his flagging poll numbers on...you guessed it...Iraq and our national security. Some reports indicate Bush even rescheduled his speech to hog coverage. Papers and even blogs have done little to fill this gap in coverage for such an important event....

Tuesday, March 28 at 11:30am, the BC Commissioners will meet in the Plaza Meeting Room (basement), Benton Plaza, 408 SW Monroe, Corvallis. The 1st item of business is to discuss our request that they adopt a resolution, similar to the one passed by the Corvallis City Council in February. We expect a public comment period. Please plan to attend.

the following is a press release written by Leah Bolger following passage of "Troops Home" Resolution for the Common Dreams website and is reprinted here

Corvallis (OR) City Council Passes "Troops Home" Resolution

CORVALLIS, Oregon - February 21

By a vote of 7 to 2, the Corvallis City Council passed a resolution calling for the government to "commence planning an orderly, rapid and comprehensive withdrawal of U.S. military personnel from Iraq." The resolution also calls on the President and Congress to fully support returning troops with necessary health care and compensation and to supply the Iraqi people with non-military aid to rebuild their country. It will be sent to local, state and federal elected officials, including President Bush.