May 17, 2009
Dear fellow peacemakers,
After Obama was elected president last November, peace activists exhaled a universal sigh of relief - the nightmare was finally over. Obama would put our nation back on-track, end the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, address global warming, restore our constitutional liberties and end torture. Sadly, now that Obama has had his 100+ days to show us what's up his sleeves, some of us are worried that we were too hasty in thinking the worst was behind us. The changes NCCPJ worked for don't seem to be on the visible horizon.
It has been over TWO YEARS since we organized the last Bring Their Buddies Home Vigil. I don't think that even the most pessimistic among us could have imagined, on that rainy February day in Carlsbad , that with a Democratic president and a Democratic majority in Congress, our troops would still be in Iraq today. And now we're looking at escalation of the war in Afghanistan and our drones are bombing Pakistan.
Where is the outcry?
Remember the passionate participation of our Peace Train going down to San Diego to join the anti-war marches? Last month, only a car-full of dedicated North County activists showed up for the peace rally in San Diego . Back in January I tried to organize a get-together to get us going again, with a disappointing response. Since my close-encounter-of-the-cancer-kind, I've been looking for someone to pick up the gauntlet to keep NCCPJ going, but it hasn't happened. Now that I and my new husband, Juan, have moved to Ocean Beach , it's time for me to move on to other things. It seems like everyone else is also preoccupied with one thing or another. In this depressed economy, those lucky enough to have a job are working longer for less. There are many other very valid explanations for the steep drop in participation in the peace movement, one of them being the realization that all of our efforts so far have pretty much changed nothing. We know the adage: The definition of an idiot is someone who keeps doing the same thing, expecting a different result. So many of us have come to the conclusion that it's time to try something else.
So NCCPJ is shutting down.
What's next?
The issues that first brought us together have not gone away. In fact, in some ways things have gotten worse. While progressives who put their heart and soul into the election of Obama are celebrating their success, we are at the convergence of the perfect storm - economic collapse; environmental catastrophes; resource shortages; and peak oil. And still we waste our precious time, energy, lives and resources on war! And have you seen how the Democrats gutted the Climate Bill before the Republicans even got to it? Damn! They act like we have time to spare on this issue? Juan and I attended the Winter Soldier Southwest Testimonies last Saturday. Did you see a word about it in the press? The most poignant part for me was hearing Vietnam Veterans cry as they recounted atrocities they witnessed or participated in 40 years ago. We've learned nothing in those 40 years!
Yes, we have to do something different, but we absolutely have to do SOMETHING.
Here's what I'm doing:
Do you want to know who is behind this madness? I did. So I spent a lot of time doing some serious research on it. You know the saying - follow the money - so I did. And I've been giving a presentation called Crisis Economics to share what I've learned. If you'd like to hear what I've discovered about who has the power and how it's being wielded in the world, I'll be speaking to the Valley Center Democratic Club this Tuesday, May 19th, 6:30 PM at the Valley Center Elementary Lower School, 28751 Cole Grade Rd. , Valley Center , CA 92082 . You are welcome to come, no cost. Or, you can arrange for me to talk to your organization, I'm eager to share what I've found out about who is really running the show - hint, it's NOT Obama. Send me an email at jeenicdr@gmail.com if you'd like to have me speak for your group.
A political solution?
If you still think there is a political solution to this mess, you might want to get involved with the North County Progressive Democrats. They are meeting next Sunday May 31st, at 1:00 pm at the Vista Public Library, 700 Eucalyptus Ave., Vista. California Deputy Attorney General Howard Wayne, a three-term member of the California Assembly, will speak on what the state budget reveals about citizens' regard for economic justice. The club will discuss his call for a constitutional amendment to eliminate the 2/3rds vote necessary to pass a budget should the May 19th election defeat the compromise budget. It looks like their website needs some updating, so you might want to send an email to their president, Zoltan Lucas, if you'd like to be on their email list. Zoltan sounds very enthusiastic about doing something effective with the group, so why not give him a hand.
The Truth Will Set Us Free
If you still think that anyone who says that 9/11 was an inside job is a conspiracy nut, you haven't been paying attention. Irrefutable scientific evidence that the 3 buildings that collapsed in New York were deliberately demolished continues to mount. Next month, the founder of Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth, Richard Gage, will be here in North County to share that information with you. Find out why half of America now questions the "official" conspiracy theory about 9/11. With Obama pushing for a surge in Afghanistan , don't you think we owe it to our troops to learn who really is responsible for the attack used to justify going into Afghanistan ? Please take the time to hear Richard speak on June 13, at 2:30 PM at the Encinitas Library, 540 Cornish Dr. Encinitas.
That's it, for now. I'll be shutting down the NCCPJ.org website in a few days. If you'd like to get an email from me occasionally, letting you know what kind of trouble I'm getting into, please sign up at www.communitysurvivalstrategies.com.
In peace and hope (ah yes, there's still hope, even after the campaign slogan fades away)
Jeeni Criscenzo
jeenicdr@gmail.com
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