Today's the day -- Iraq Moratorium #12 -- a day to do something to end the war and occupation of Iraq.

It's a simple concept.  The Moratorium asks people to interrupt their daily routines on the Third Friday of every month and take some action, individually or with a group, to end the war and occupation.  It encourages  locally organized, grassroots actions to move more of the silent majority who say they oppose the war to do something to end it.

The national Moratorium doesn't try to tell people what action to take.  It offers a wide variety of options, from wearing a button or armband to taking part in a demonstration, and many things in between.  The important thing is that people do something.

Friday marks the 12th month, the end of a year, for the Iraq Moratorium.

Since last September, it has united people holding more than 1,200 events and actions in 41 states and 240 communities, from one end of the country to the other.

But it hasn't stopped the war.  Should we give up now?

The Iraq Moratorium folks don't think so.  In fact, they've renewed their commitment to ending the war and occupation, and have made some improvements in the operation. You'll find a new website, with a new address, www.IraqMoratorium.com, and even a new logo to go with the new look.

Witness Against War, a 450-mile walk from Chicago to St. Paul for the Republican convention, reached a Wisconsin Army base on Sunday, and 13 walkers were arrested when they tried to enter the base to interact with soldiers there.

Kathy Kelly of Voices for Creative Nonviolence, who organized the walk, was held on an oustanding 10-year-old warrant for civil disobedience at Project ELF in northern Wisconsin.  The others were released and the walk continues today.

This report is from Jeff Leys, one of the walkers who was arrested:  

In the spirit, perhaps, of the Vietnam war protesters (pictured) who attempted to levitate the Pentagon in 1967, activists in Springfield, Mass. will observe the Iraq Moratorium on Friday, Aug. 15, by encircling the federal building there.

They'll gather at 4 p.m. for a short rally, then will encircle the building and hold hands around it. The theme for the day is "Dont Invade Iran." They are calling the action "Hands Around the Federal Building," and say that car pools are coming from other cities. "we need 350 people to make this work. We are confident we will have that," they say on the Moratorium blog.

That's just one of dozens of events happening across the country, which are listed on the new, improved Moratorium website. There are always more that don't get posted, or that only surface after the fact.

As the Iraq Moratorium prepares for its 12th monthly observance on August 15 -- the Third Friday of the month, as always -- it's made some changes to get ready for its second year.

You'll find a new website, with a new address, www.IraqMoratorium.com, and even a new logo to go with the new look.

One thing that hasn't changed is the determination to end the senseless war and occupation of Iraq, by encouraging locally organized, grassroots actions to move more of the silent majority who say they oppose the war to do something to end it.

Does public pressure, personal contact with legislators, and protest matter in shaping public policy? After eight years of Bush and Cheney many might say no, our voices and opinions are ignored in Washington.  But read on.

Today's exhibit: Representative Jan Schakowsky, Democrat of Illinois.  She appears to have had an awakening. Or, as we used to say, her consciousness has been raised.

A few weeks ago, Wisconsin peace activists successfully challenged the Army's use of a "Virtual Army Experience" game, aimed at recruiting young people, at a lakefront music festival. As reported then, the festival asked the Army to shut down the game, which offered a chance to shoot at life-sized human targets from a Humvee, replace it with something less offensive, and set an age limit of 17 to participate.

Now comes the charge that by targeting young teenagers the Army is actually violating international law:

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has found that Army use of the game, and its recruiting practice in general, violate international law.

In some ways, much of Kathy Kelly's adult life has been a walk against war. So it was completely in character for her to be walking through Milwaukee Monday, on a 450-mile trek to St. Paul and the Republican national convention.

Kelly, (left) a high school and community college teacher, has repeatedly risked her life and her freedom as an advocate for non-violence.  She is now affiliated with Voices for Creative Nonviolence, based in her hometown of Chicago, which organized Witness Against War now making its way across Wisconsin.

Today is Iraq Moratorium day, a day to take action to end the war and occupation of Iraq.  This month, it leads into three days of action to prevent war with Iran.  A number of Moratorium events will connect the two, as participants in today's events make cell phone calls to Congressional offices, leaflet about Iran, or write or email their representatives.

Much of the focus is on a House resolution which essentially calls for a blockade of Iran.

Does it matter?  United for Peace and Justice reports that two members of Congress already have changed their minds after being challenged by local peace organizations. This report from St. Louis tells of one of the successes.

And sometimes I can't believe my own eyes. WashPost::

CINCINNATI -- Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) called for sweeping educational reforms today in a speech before the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, an association which he said "means more to me than any other," despite his historic opposition to many of its policies.

McCain, who has received an F grade from the NAACP for his votes in each of the past four Congresses, acknowledged that he might not win the votes of the group's members in his race against Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.)

"People say, 'Why do you keep doing it?  Why do you want to stand outside of some fundraiser with a sign?  What's the point?'" a Milwaukee activist said at a recent meeting at Peace Action-Wisconsin.

There are a lot of reasons.  Some are personal. Some do it to take a stand, bear witness, confront a politician.

And every now and then something happens to make you think that it might actually be having an impact and making a difference.

Ask members of the Milwaukee Impeachment Committee about their recent experience with John Conyers.

Friday, July 18, is Iraq Moratorium day #11.

It is a day, as is the Third Friday of every month, on which individuals and groups across the country take some action to call for the end to the war and occupation of Iraq.

The number of listed events on the Iraq Moratorium national website,IraqMoratorium.org, is approaching 100, with more still being added.  

AP reports that John McCain

...resisted being dragged into a discussion Wednesday about insurance companies that cover Viagra but not birth control products.

"I certainly do not want to discuss that issue," the presidential candidate said when a reporter asked him about it on his campaign bus, the "Straight Talk Express."

Learning from his example, I have no comment on the location of McCain's town meeting in Hudson, Wisconsin on Friday to discuss women's issues.  The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports:

The meeting will be held at J&L Steel Erectors, a woman-owned business.

Wonder what will come up.

On Saturday, a group of walkers for peace will set out from Chicago on a seven-week walk ending at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul. Their mission:

To challenge and to nonviolently resist our country’s continuing war in and occupation of Iraq.

The walk, which will cross the entire state of Wisconsin, is organized by Voices for Creative Non-violence, a Chicago-based group with deep, long-standing roots in active nonviolent resistance to U.S. war-making. Begun in the summer of 2005, Voices draws upon the experiences of those who challenged the brutal economic sanctions imposed by the U.S. and U.N. against the Iraqi people between 1990 and 2003.

Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota peace organizations are supporting the walk, playing host to the walkers and holding events along the route. People can participate by joining the walk for a day, a week, a month or the entire Witness Against War. Those who live along the route could consider making a food donation or organizing with others in your community to provide lunch or dinner to walkers.

I had promised to report on the National Assembly to End the Iraq War and Occupation held June 28-29 in Cleveland, but delayed it to await an official summary of the actions taken there.  Unless you were in the room almost all of the time for the debate and votes, it was impossible to know exactly what decisions the 400-plus participants made.  And I confess to spending a good chunk of time "networking" and kibitzing in the halls.

Now the organizers have produced their summary and evaluation, which you can read it its entirety here.

The Assembly urged united and massive mobilizations on both coasts in the spring to end the war, while also endorsing demonstrations at the Republican (Sept. 1-4)  and Democratic (Aug. 25-28) conventions, local actions on October 11 -- the date Congress passed the resolution authorizing the Iraq war -- and proposing Dec. 9-14 as dates for local actions across the country demanding the immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan.

I wouldn't blame you, dear reader, if you are weary of this topic, but I feel obliged to write one more time on Milwaukee Summerfest and the US Army, to set the record straight in case yesterday's post left a false negative impression.

Having now visited the Army exhibit at Summerfest, rather than relying on newspaper accounts, I am ready to say that Peace Action-Wisconsin, Veterans for Peaceand others made some real gains. I had questioned that earlier when Summerfest appeared to back off.

One step forward, a half step back.

We said it yesterday,in urging people to thank Milwaukee's Summerfest for doing the right thing and shutting down an Army exhibit that featured virtual killing:

It is never easy to publicly take a stand and reverse an earlier decision -- not to mention facing down the military.

Summerfest found just how hard it is after a right-wing radio talker on Wisconsin's most powerful station, crazed by the decision, spent hours urging his listeners to call the festival and complain.

The result? A "compromise" which allowed the game to begin operating again, replacing the human targets with inanimate ones. [To see the "game," click here and wait a few seconds.]

In Milwaukee, one small step for humankind:

At the request of Summerfest officials, the U.S. Army on Tuesday removed a virtual urban warfare game that allowed fest-goers as young as 13 to hop into a Humvee simulator and fire machine guns at life-size people on a computer screen.

Peace Action-Wisconsin launched a campaign Tuesday to shut down the "game," and Veterans for Peace and the Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice also joined in asking their members to call Summerfest to complain.