I leave Wednesday for Albuquerque, New Mexico to join protests at the 23rd Annual Symposium on Space Nuclear Power & Propulsion. Each year NASA, Pentagon, and the aerospace industry gather to make plans to move nuclear power into space. The Bush administration has been good to this group, resurrecting the nuclear rocket, now called Project Prometheus. Other space nuclear programs are being expanded and thus the chance of a deadly accident becomes greater as the numbers of dangerous launches will dramatically increase in coming years.
I will start out with talks in Silver City, Las Vegas, and Albuquerque with the protests set for Feb 13-14 outside the Hilton Hotel in Albuquerque where the symposium will be held.
I've been attending these events for more than 10 years and local activist Bob Anderson has always been a wonderful host and speaking tour organizer for me. His friendship is something I really treasure and am always happy to hang out with him for several days of action.
Bob is a Vietnam vet and has been teaching college for many years now. Because of his political activity across New Mexico, he has now lost his teaching position at the University of New Mexico. Bob is a true profile in courage as he never let his career ambitions stand in the way of speaking truth to power.
I spent several hours today listening to the funeral service of Coretta Scott King. George W. Bush was sitting right behind the podium and I was shaken to my bones when Rev. Joseph Lowery (former president of SCLC) got up and moved the crowd to its feet by saying that we know there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, we can't have war and deal with poverty. Bush was just a bit uncomfortable. I said to myself, now that is speaking truth to power. When he was done, Lowery turned and walked right up to Bush and extended his hand. What a moment!
So from Joseph Lowery I go to Bob Anderson. Good men they are.
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