View Photos and Reports

Thank you for being a part of the Million Doors for Peace day of action. For the past two weeks we've been collecting reports, photos, and stories like the one above from over 10,000 volunteers who took part across the country.

Our collective actions on Saturday, September 20th showed the country that the American people are demanding an end to this war. From Boise, Idaho to Bangor, Maine we identified tens of thousands of voters who want to bring this war to an end. On this coordinated day of action media outlets from the Scarlet Scuttlebutt in NJ to the Boston Globe took notice of what The Nation magazine called "the broadest antiwar coalition to date".

Just take a look at this mention from the Des Moines Register in Iowa:

"It's kind of like grass roots meets Net roots," said Dinsdale, an organizer for the Iowa Citizen Action Network and mother of an Iraq war veteran. "I hope it will show Congress and our next administration that the American people are ready to end this war in Iraq and that we'd like to have a date set for the troops to come home."

Last week we delivered the names that you gathered across the country directly to Washington. And even more importantly, we're reaching out to the thousands of new anti-war Americans you identified, including an astounding *1,200* people who decided right at the door that they want to be volunteers in the effort to stop the war just like you. If you still haven't please report the results of your canvass.

The Million Doors for Peace day of action brought together some of the leading anti-war groups in the country. Please stay involved in the movement by checking out what these groups are doing right now. They all have a "join" button on their homepage -- go click it!

Million Doors for Peace Petition

Elected Officials Urge Congress to End Iraq War

Lane County Commissioner Pete Sorenson initiated the letter and he, along with the Rural Organizing Project (ROP) and CALC’s Progressive Responses (PR), obtained the signatures of the elected officials. “Congress has the power of the purse and must assert its responsibility to do what is right and just. It’s time to bring our troops home now,” said Sorenson in the letter. For a complete listing of those who signed the letter see CALC’s website at calclane.org

Elected officials are struggling to provide basic services at a time when the Iraq War’s costs are mounting. They have been told by federal officials, time and time again, that federal funds for roads, schools, economic development, housing, corrections, tuition assistance, law enforcement, health care, mental health and all other purposes are limited because of the Iraq War. As a nation, we have spent over $450 billion on the Iraq war, with Oregon’s proportionate share of that cost $3.7 billion.

Rural America is home to a disproportionate number of soldiers who have lost their lives in Iraq. The New York Times reported in July of 2005 that of the soldiers who have died in Iraq nearly two-thirds came from more rural, less densely populated counties. Many of the signatories on the letter come from rural Oregon, which is paying a high price for this war, both in human costs and lost investment in economies and human services.

Rural and urban Oregon together demand that the troops be brought home now! In the spring, hundreds of people attending Co$t of War Town Halls organized by ROP made it clear that the cost of war is too high and they urged Congress to cut off funding. During the August Congressional recess CALC helped organize big turnouts in Lane County to town halls put on by Senator Wyden and Congressman DeFazio, with the same ”troops home now!” message expressed loud and clear.

Wyden and DeFazio agreed that there is no military solution to the Iraq conflict and that the war must end. They both voted against war funding last spring and are leaning toward voting against it again this fall, but did not make a firm commitment. Even though Senator Smith has expressed “grave” concerns about the Iraq war, he plans to continue voting to fund it. The movement to stop the war is at critical juncture. General Patreus and others in the Bush administration are pulling out all the stops to convince Congress and the American people to “stay the course” in Iraq. But the elected officials who signed Sorenson’s letter are challenging the status quo and calling on Congress to stop funding the Iraq war.

Contact Senators Wyden and Smith and Rep. DeFazio and insist that they join with Pete Sorenson and the other elected officials and oppose any further war funding.

Iraq is a humanitarian catastrophe. Eight million Iraqis are in need of emergency assistance and two million Iraqis have fled to neighboring countries. The chaos and violence in Iraq threaten to destabilize the whole region.

Dick Cheney and company are rattling their sabers and threatening to attack Iran. Rep. DeFazio is pushing legislation in Congress to keep this from happening. Please join us October 24 as Dr. Catherine Thomasson, National President of PSR, talks about her recent trip to Iran and what we can do to stop Cheney and ensure that peace lays ahead for our two countries.

See CALC calendar for details.

Fall events kick off an ongoing series of forums and soup suppers focusing not only on Iran and Iraq but also on efforts to create peace between Israel and Palestine.

Progressive Responses is continuing to do all it can to end the Iraq war and prevent a new war with Iran — lobbying, mobilizing people to put more heat on Congress, organizing educational events, and presenting alternative ways to deal with global conflicts. We need to do more. To get involved contact Michael Carrigan at 485-1755, x-5 or calcdev@efn.org.

Stop the War Now

But we’re hopeful that Democrats in Congress will challenge the Bush administration. In order for this to happen, however, we have to pressure Congress to act now to end the occupation of Iraq.

For many years, we’ve been wanting to end the bloodshed. Clearly the time has come to let our Congress know this simply cannot and will not be tolerated any longer. Join CALC in calling for an end of the occupation now. Contact Congressman Peter DeFazio and Senators Wyden and Smith and call on them to cut the funding for the Iraq war and to push the Bush Administration to bring our troops home now.

TOWARD THE EFFECTIVE FOREIGN POLICY WE NEED

The Iraq War is diverting us from facing up to the major challenges confronting us and the world. This presentation focuses first on why and how to end the US occupation, and what we learn from this experience.

Then we explore the daunting challenges: the depletion of oil supply, the unprecedented crisis of climate change, deepening global inequality, and the ongoing resort to terrorism.

We present a critical choice between two strategies regarding these challenges:

1. continuing a military approach to national security, a strategy proving to be too costly, ineffective and counterproductive, or
2. recognizing that national security depends on global security, promoting institutions for global cooperation to confront the major challenges. We think that the latter strategy offers the best chance for a decent quality of life for our children and grandchildren, as we strive to sustain life on earth.