GRANNY D TO SPEAK AT BIW PROTEST

Doris Haddock, Granny D, walked across America in support of campaign finance reform (1999-2000). Her trip, begun shortly before her 89th birthday, lasted 14 months and covered 3,200 miles.

Granny D, who lives in New Hampshire, is coming to Bath on Saturday, October 18 to speak at the Maine Veterans for Peace (VfP) protest against another Navy Aegis ship "Christening". Instead of celebrating another "destroyer" VfP plans to christen a peace ship that day called the "USS Granny D."

Another speaker on October 18 will be the first BIW worker ever to address a peace rally at the production facility. The BIW worker will call for the conversion of the shipyard to peaceful production - building windmills and rail systems instead of weapons for endless war.

Anne Gibbons, a leader of CodePink New York City, will also be a speaker at the event.

The BIW ship to be "Christened" will be called the Wayne E. Meyer (DDG 108) in honor of the "Father of Aegis". Rear Admiral Wayne Meyer oversaw the development of the Aegis system that is the core of the weapons system that can track, target and destroy aircraft, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles thus allowing the U.S. "to completely dominate a theater of operations." The Aegis phased array radar forms the core of the U.S. "Missile Defense" first-strike arsenal now forward deployed worldwide and being used by the Navy to surround China's coastal region.

Granny D has been honored by Maine artist Robert Shetterly in his series of portraits called "Americans Who Tell the Truth".

Shetterly quotes Granny D, "We live in a land where each person’s voice matters. We can all do something.... If we lose control of our government, then we lose our ability to dispense justice and human kindness. Our first priority today, then, is to defeat utterly those forces of greed and corruption that have come between us and our self-governance."

VfP will organize a peace walk from Waterfront Park in Bath at 9:30 am on October 18. The walkers will carry the "USS Granny D" peace ship to the Washington Street gate where those attending the BIW "Christening" must enter. The rally with speakers and music will be held at this spot (corner of Washington and Spring Streets).

It is there that we will hear from the 98 year old Granny D.

Come meet this American legend.