I hope I will be forviven for borrowing from Megadeth - but the question posed in this title essentially summarizes the last seven years which have followed the tragic day of 9/11.

The following likewise summarizes these same last seven years:

"Violence is the last refuge of incompetence" - The Sixth Principle of Incompetence.

San Francisco organizers are taking it to the streets -- their ironing board, that is.

Here's what they're suggesting as an Iraq Moratorium activity on Friday, the ninth monthly Moratorium action:

Make a difference - join us in neighborhood outreach! Stand at an ironing board at a busy location with a partner to help you and speak to that frustrated, angry person who doesn't know what to do. Get them to write a message on a postcard to their congressperson or presidential candidate. It's fun, people are so appreciative and eager to speak out! In an hour or two you will reach 50+ people. Please help, choose a time and location of your choice, we have materials! Locations: Golden Gate Park, City Hall, Farmer's market, 9th and Irving, City College, Tenderloin and more.

One woman who's tried it out lately says that is an effective way to engage people and get them to do something.  Why an ironing board?  They're portable, quick and easy to set up, and allow people to write standing up.

"Communist China".

I've been hearing those words ever since I can remember--often linked together just that way.  It used to run a distant second to "Communist Russia".  But there's no question who the new big kid on the block is these days.  There's no question who the next superpower will be, if the world as we know it makes it that far.

Thus has China become the new great American bogeyman, the new rising empire that, in years to come, some of our leaders (especially our good Republicans) will attempt to incite us to hate and fear.

History tells us something about the handoff of global power from one state to another: it very rarely comes without a greal deal of bloodshed between the old power and the new one.  

With that, please come with me across the jump...

By Leslie Cagan, National Coordinator, UFPJ:

Since last fall, on the third Friday of every month, people in cities and towns around the country have organized protest activities and other events as part of the nationally coordinated Iraq Moratorium. This coming Friday, May 16th, is Iraq Moratorium #9.

First, we want to congratulate the local organizers who keep pulling together these activities. And we also want to congratulate the national organizers who have maintained and expanded this effort, including the Iraq Moratorium website at: www.IraqMoratorium.org

Second, we want to encourage more local groups to get involved. There is still time to organize something in your community, at your school or workplace, or anywhere you might be able to reach people.

I re-read the rules. Long version.

I think one of you called me a Commie the other night when you sent me that picture of the Korean leader.  I don't know his name, not going to look it up either. But I know him on sight. I'm not a Commie, I'm a true blue, red blooded American. I am just what is called a "People Person".

OPERATION GRATITUDE****You Got It Kiddo, Anything you want***

ga*

Kathy Kelly has more than paid her dues in the movement for peace through non-violence, putting herself in harm's way and risking her freedom.

She is the latest endorser of the Iraq Moratorium, a growing grassroots initiative which will be observed on Friday, May 16, as it is on the third Friday of each month.  (She explains her endorsement below.)

The co-coordinator of Chicago-based Voices for Creative Nonviolence, Kelly helped initiate Voices in the Wilderness, a campaign to end UN/US sanctions against Iraq in 1996. For bringing "medicine and toys" to Iraq in open violation of the UN/US sanctions, she and other campaign members were fined $20,000, which they’ve refused to pay.

Voices in the Wilderness organized 70 delegations to visit Iraq in the period between 1996 and the beginning of the "Operation Shock and Awe" warfare (March 2003). Kelly has been to Iraq 24 times since January 1996.

This mother's day I'd like to share a poem that for me is a reminder on what the many wars and conflicts in the World inflict on mothers regardless of where they are in the world, what 'race', what religion and what political persuasion.

This poem celebrates the fact that mothers the world over share in their love for their children, and their sadness for losses of their lives when they are sacrificed in the alters of senseless wars and conflicts.

A MOTHER’S TEARS, WHAT FLAVORS DO THEY COME IN?

What flavors do a mother’s tears come in?
What about her heartbroken grief,
Her sobs and cries of pain and anguish,
The pain for a child lost that sears her soul,
For a child she nursed and cared for - for years.
What flavors do a mother’s tears come in?

A MOTHER’S TEARS, WHAT FLAVORS DO THEY COME IN?

One of my favorite Seattle radio stations, 96.5 Jack FM, had a great line: "Tell your mom the three little words she has been waiting to hear all these years - I'm moving out..."

Mother's Day has, of course, become a multi-billion dollar holiday, complete with flowers, chocolates, cards, etc. But that was not how it started. Originally, Mother's Day was a profound statement against war.

It was back in the 19th century that Julia Ward Howe started Mother's day, with the goal of stopping warfare. She wrote a powerful Mother's Day Proclamation, which is just as relevant today as it was in her own day.

If only the world had listened to her!

A year ago I wrote a post called The Viability of Obama, in response to to friends who thought that the United States was not ready to elect a black president (and long before Obama was thought of as anything but a foil for Clinton). So yes, I'm here to congratulate myself. In part. For what I thought might form the counter-currents of Clinton's weaknesses--anger and eliteness--were effectively turned on Obama.

"Peace activists have learned that big demos in Washington, DC, alone will not save us.  Sure, let's go there, or other big cities to show the peace doves, and Old Glory too, once in a while.  But the real engines in this campaign to save ourselves from oblivion are the small but determined protests mounted everywhere across this land. Building a huge and independent movement of enraged and engaged citizens is the way to not only move democracy out of its infancy, but to force the next administration, whether Democratic or Republican, to stop the insane, tragic, cowardly invading of other nations."-- WWII Veteran, author and anti-war activist, Martin Murie.

May 16 is the Third Friday of the month -- Iraq Moratorium #9.

Quoting Murie, some Midwest organizers tell us why it's important:

We've written in the past about the hardy and dedicated folks up in Hayward, in northern Wisconsin, who have led the nation in participation in the Iraq Moratorium, which will be observed again on next Friday, May 16.

They've turned out 80 people in a city of 2,100 for the monthly Third Friday vigil at a highway intersection -- a participation rate that would translate nationally into 12 million people in the streets.

Wisconsin has more events each month than any other state except California, with seven times the population, in large part because the Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice, a statewide coalition of 150 groups, has encouraged its affiliates to take part.

Not resting on their laurels, two of the organizers of the Hayward vigils have written the following piece, which was distributed statewide by WNPJ. Please take the time to read to the end, so you don't miss the powerful quote at the end from Martin Murie:

The storm appears to be subsiding

My "diary" is really currently my blog over at the Obama For America site.  However, I'd like to augment my link to that site with this appeal for donations:

It has been one of the most energetic years of my life, and we are now with 2 great candidates and a difficult decision.
But what many ignore is the real question; that is, the one that matters most.
"Is ANY democrat better than McCain?"

Chuck in Whitefish Bay: "I'm pledging my rebate check to Nukewatch to pay for the costs of a civil-rights suit by Nukewatch protesters who were arrested in Sen. Oberstar's office."

Charles in New Glarus: "All of my rebate is going to Iraq Veterans Against the War."

Becky in Madison: "My rebate check is going to help support an immigrant family, resettled here from Thailand."

Harland in Necedah: "I'm giving $100 of my rebate to WNPJ [Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice]."

Les in Somerset: "I'm donating $25 to Iraq Veterans Against the War"

Rose in Middleton: "I pledge $300 to help support work-study students at WNPJ"

Dorothy in Madison: "I'm pledging my entire rebate check to WNPJ"

Barb in Appleton: "I'm giving $50 to Fellowship of Reconciliation, $50 to nonviolent peaceforce, and $50 to American Friends Service Committee."

Chick in Washington Island: "I'm donating $50 of my check to Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice."

Is the U.S. Treasury, which can't print money fast enough to pay for the trillion-dollar tragedy in Iraq, about to give an economic stimulus to peace organizations working to stop the war?

It seems highly unlikely, but if it doesn't happen it won't be because the antiwar folks haven't tried.  Many seem to be on the same wave length as an email I received yesterday from United for Peace and Justice:

Spend your stimulus check on peace! The sooner the war ends, the more money the nation saves. Not to mention the lives and futures of millions of people. So let's use the stimulus money to stop the war, bring all of the troops home and get the nation's budget back on track.

We invite you to spend your stimulus check, or some portion of it, on the one thing the Bush administration doesn't want you to invest in: Help strengthen the peace and justice movement!

Amidst a HUGELY vicious primary fight, Barack Obama managed to bring peace to the Niger Delta.

No REALLY

(Hat tip Ben Smith )

Reuters is reporting that Nigerian rebels are mulling over a ceasefire after an appeal by Senator Obama.

http://uk.reuters.com/...

Rebels who have stepped up attacks on Nigeria's oil industry in the last month said on Sunday they were considering a ceasefire appeal by U.S. presidential hopeful Barack Obama.

   The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has launched five attacks on oil facilities in the Niger Delta since it resumed a campaign of violence in April, forcing Royal Dutch Shell to shut more than 164,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd).

   "The MEND command is seriously considering a temporary ceasefire appeal by Senator Barack Obama. Obama is someone we respect and hold in high esteem," the militant group said in an e-mailed statement.