---

---

Today was a busy day with my grandchildren, from staging our own mini “Olympic” Decathlon, to a baseball game, going out for ice cream, to working on the rows changing cow dung to worm castings. My computer time was tonight but I wasted it on responding to my Congresswoman’s letter to me justifying her yes vote for an $84 billion dollar supplemental bill for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Here is a link to the letter from Congresswoman Moore and below is my response.

Since worms are good at turning waste into rich soil I offer my response to my congresswoman as my posting tonight.

Tomorrow I will be back home and resume my more normal observation diary.

Dear Congresswoman Moore,

Thank you for your thoughtful response to my phone call and email about your vote for the Supplementary military funding bill. I strongly disagree with your opinion, values and facts on this issue of life and death.

I find your use of the 9/11 attacks to justify your yes vote on the FY 2009 supplemental funding bill appalling. I join with the September Eleventh Families for Peace Tomorrows in saying Dear President Obama: Get Us out of Afghanistan.

“Lasting peace in Iraq and Afghanistan cannot be achieved through maintaining or increasing U.S. military involvement in these countries. To the contrary, the U.S military presence in both Iraq and Afghanistan generates hostility towards the United States, and instigates instability and violence in those countries.” (The Declaration of Peace Statement)

In voting for the 84 billion supplemental military funding bill for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan you say “I err on the side of peace.” I believe you erred on the side of war. Making peace not war is the way to peace. When will we ever learn?

The lessons of Vietnam, Iraq and now Afghanistan have taught us that we can never win when we are fighting against people in their own country. (Were you old enough to remember the General in Vietnam who said: “We must destroy this village to save it?”) “To the contrary, the U.S military presence in both Iraq and Afghanistan generates hostility towards the United States, and instigates instability and violence in those countries.”

Moving troops from one “illegal, immoral and unjust war” in Iraq to another one in Afghanistan is making conditions worse for people of these two countries and dangerous for Americans.

Also the Clinton/Bush model of indiscriminate bombing as we are now doing in Afghanistan and Pakistan does not work. Please read Kathy Kelly’s article on “Visitors and Host in Pakistan” about the senseless killing of innocent victims by drone attacks. Yes we, you and I, as well as the video pilots in Nevada are responsible for this destruction of human life.

In 1968 I was arrested twice, once as part of the Milwaukee 14 and once as part of the struggle against “institutional racism” at Marquette University which led to the creation of the Education Opportunity Program, which you are one of the most famous graduates of. I have no regrets about my arrest, suspension or loss of my Masters Degree from my action. However, I am saddened that Marquette did not learn the values of justice and peace that motivated this action, as the government officials did not learn from the wars in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan and now Pakistan. In fact Marquette University is now the largest officer training base in the region (see Nonviolent Actions) and graduates like you are not listening to your constituents by supporting the military-industrial-educational complex’s same old, same old policies of war and discrimination against the people of these three countries.

Stop endangering our lives, the lives of my children and grandchildren and all people who seek peace. Besides reading Kathy Kelly’s article I suggest you read the words of Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Dorothy Day about war and nonviolence.

This is the second time you betrayed my values with your votes, the first time as my State Senator. All your speeches and words against the war in Iraq have been made meaningless by your vote to fund more endless war.

I will urge everyone I know to never again vote for you. At the School of Army at Marquette they teach that military values have priority over conscience. Your action says to me that your political values have priority over your constituents.

Green Peace,

Bob Graf
Cc. Milwaukee Peace Yahoo Group, Peace Action, Catholics for Peace and Justice and Candlelight Coalition.

Comments

(:commentboxchrono:)