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Support Bradley Manning

Bradley ManningToday Bradley Manning’s court martial opened at Fort Mead, MD. He has been charged with “aiding the enemy” and is facing life in a military prison. Manning’s real crime - exposing the war crimes committed by our government, in our name. 

Daniel Ellsberg, whose couragous release to the press of the “Pentagon Papers” helped speed the close of the Viet Nam War, had this to say about Bradley:

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Budget for All Referendum: Let's Send a Message to Washington!

Paul ShannonThe Afghanistan war grinds on, the Pentagon budget keeps growing, corporations and the 1%'ers are paying lower taxes than their secretaries, Social Security and other benefits are under attack, and next to nothing is being done to create jobs.  

Instead of addressing these problems, the House of Representatives showed that it is still gripped by deficit fever when it passed the draconian Ryan budget, and gave only 78 votes to the alternative presented by the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

A coalition of community, labor, and peace groups are organizing to put a public policy question on the November ballot across Massachusetts.  We need to collect 200 signatures of registered voters in each State Rep district by July 3.  Join us May 6 to go over the issues and learn how to collect signatures!

The wording of the Budget for All public policy question will be:

Shall the state Representative (or Senator) from this district be instructed to vote in favor of a resolution calling upon the Congress and the President to:

1. Prevent cuts to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and Veterans benefits, or to housing, food and unemployment assistance;

2. Create and protect jobs by investing in manufacturing, schools, housing, renewable energy, transportation and other public services;

3. Provide new revenues for these purposes and to reduce the long-term federal deficit by closing corporate tax loopholes, ending offshore tax havens, and raising taxes on incomes over $250,000; and

4. Redirect military spending to these domestic needs by reducing the military budget, ending the war in Afghanistan and bringing U.S. troops home safely now.

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St Patrick's Peace Parade!

Yesterday, the big day finally came -- Saint Patrick's Peace Parade: People's Parade for Peace, Equality, Jobs, Social and Economic Justice. 
Pat Scanlon and Tony Flaherty, two of the main parade organizers.
 
As in years past, the Veterans For Peace request to join the "official" (or "traditional") St. Patrick's Day Parade was denied by the Allied War Veterans Council of South Boston.  So was the request of Join the Impact and MassEquality (both LGBT organizations).  (Read article about the MassEquality experience at this link, along with a copy of the letter they received from the Allied War Veterans.) 

Not being allowed to march in the "official" parade, for the second year Veterans For Peace and other groups (notably Massachusetts Peace Action with the leadership of Cole Harrison) organized the St. Patrick's Peace Parade (the People's Alternative Parade...).  This year's parade was bigger than the first one, perhaps two or three times bigger (I don't have a good count yet).
 

There were several divisions in the Peace Parade, including: Veterans For Peace, GLBT groups, religious/faith-based groups, labor, peace groups, political groups, and Occupy. 
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