In the first six months of 2008, 205 American soldiers and over 6,000 Iraqi civilians were reported killed in Iraq. Only, you wouldn't know that from watching the three major newscasts which devoted a total of only 181 weekday minutes to covering the Iraq War.
The media's complacency in ignoring the ongoing war has made one thing perfectly clear: This war isn't going to end on its own. We have to end it.
Something incredible has happened in the anti-war movement. All the major anti war groups in the country have come together for one day of action. And no, it's not a march on Washington - it's a canvass in your own neighborhood.
25,000 volunteers * 40 doors = 1 million doors for peace
Sign up right now to take part this Saturday, Sept. 20th in a Million Doors for Peace.
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(Full Disclosure: I'm proud to be the Online Organizing Manager at TrueMajority.org, a project of USAction)
Anti-war champion Ned Lamont came to DailyKos on Fridayto post about this day of action:
It's been a while since the Mission Accomplished banner was unfurled. Now, one trillion dollars and tens of thousands of dead and wounded later, the price of oil has tripled and our economy has been run into the ditch. And if the surge is "working," it has worked particularly well for Iran's Ahmadinejad, who recently enjoyed a comfortable night's sleep in one of Saddam Huseein's palaces in downtown Baghdad.
Next weekend, with the same type of grassroots effort we used to fire up the debate two years ago, we can help turn the focus away from lipstick - and back to Iraq.
What groups are involved? I wasn't kidding when I suggested that it's every national anti-war group out there. Not to mention the hundreds of local anti war groups across the country.
Groups participating in Million Doors for Peace include Catholics United, Cities for Peace, CodePink, Credo, Democracy for America, MoveOn.org, Pax Christi USA, Peace Action, Progressive Accountability, Progressive Democrats of America, Organic Consumers Association, United for Peace & Justice, USAction Education Fund & TrueMajority.org, Voters for Peace, Win Without War. Combined, the coalition boasts a membership in the millions and hundreds of state and local affiliates.
Here's what The Nation's Katrina vanden Heuvel had to say:
At this moment, when the mainstream media has largely abandoned coverage of the Iraq War and the majority antiwar opinion, the presidential campaign is underwhelming in offering any vision of peace, and the antiwar movement clearly needs to redouble its efforts, an exciting mobilization is reenergizing the peace movement--the Million Doors for Peace campaign.
How's it going to work? Simple as 1, 2, 3. Sign up at Million Doors for Peace with your address. We'll send you a walksheet with 40 doors to knock on in your neighborhood. Talk to those folks on Saturday and then get back online and tell us how those conversations went.
So what's it going to take? Take 2 hours off from what you have planned this Saturday, September 20th and talk to your newly registered and infrequently voting neighbors about the war in Iraq.
1 - Join the Million Doors for Peace
2 - Rec this Post
3 - Invite your friends and family to participate in a Million Doors for Peace
P.S. I know. You've got other things to do - candidates to canvass for, diaries to write, chores to finish, the list goes on and on. Take a 2 hr break on Saturday and talk to your neighbors about ending the Iraq war. No matter who becomes President we're going to have to push them to end this war - and that begins this Saturday.