CONGRESSIONAL OFFICE OCCUPATIONS BEGIN

The photo above comes from the office occupation of Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) that was one of the kick-off actions that took place on Feb 5 as the national Campaign of Sustained Nonviolent Civil Disobedience to End the Iraq War began. (Click on the link in the headline above to see more details about events underway around the country.)

Here in Maine we have undertaken the formation of several affinity groups that are planning the non-violent occupations of our congressional offices during the coming weeks. We are planning non-violence training on Feb 10 and 17 in Portland as we move forward to try to prevent Congressional approval of Bush's request for $100 billion more for the occupation of Iraq.

I hope that readers of this blog will be working in their local communities to be part of this six-week national campaign. We can talk all day long but unless the American people begin to non-violently challenge the Congress, and keep them from forking over more money to Bush, then this war will never end.

Just in the past week we've heard that Bush's budget proposal for the next fiscal year calls for more massive cuts in health care funds for the poor and other social spending cuts. Bush is intentionally creating the massive budget deficit knowing full well that he can then come back to Congress and say, "Hey we've cut to get spending under control."

Any Congressperson that says we can fund the occupation of Iraq and still afford to fund human needs in this country is a liar. Pure and simple.

And if we let them get away with those lies then we are complicit in the whole game. Time has come to fish or cut bait.