Will it be your letter he reads? Support a U.S. Department of Peace and write a letter, make a phone call, send an email or do all three. Join me now and contact President Obama http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=139432075&blogId=513687160

Please join the DOP community on http://www.Change.org/ideas/
and add your comments. Thanks for writing this profound article Ted!

http://www.change.org/ideas/2028/view_blog/a_memorial_day_salute/

This Memorial Day, I'm choosing to honor those who died for our country by considering what we should be doing to make sure no one else need to die for our country ever again. A couple of things that come to mind:

Outlaw the concept of "Preemptive War"

Embrace the concept of "Preemptive Peace"

We need to stop funneling billions and billions of dollars year after year expanding our national capacity to create and then destroy our enemies while creating thousands upon thousands of Memorial Day honorees in the process. Instead, we should be using our financial and human resources, along with our communal creative energies, to identify those who would seek to harm us and work with them to proactively address their grievances and work to turn them into allies.

I know this may sound Utopian, but we do already possess the necessary technologies to make this work. Experts in international affairs know from experience what factors will create levels of desperation that will ultimately result in violent conflict - high infant mortality, lack of access to free markets, absence of democratic processes, for example. If we make investments in these situations to address the root causes and create lasting solutions to these problems, we will not have to send in the troops later as peacekeepers or invaders. I think we should give it a try, don't you?

This promising approach is not going to happen if we don't change the way our federal government is organized. We need a new structure that includes a Department of Peace that will work with the State and Defense departments to establish conditions that foster allies, not just project our national interests and exploit international relationships to our benefit. There is currently legislation in the House - H.R. 808 - to create a Department of Peace. If you are interested in getting involved in the national grassroots campaign to make this happen, contact the Peace Alliance at www.thepeacealliance.org, or on Change.org. You can also send a letter to your Representative at http://bit.ly/XpdqE and let them know you want their support for this legislation.

Let's not let the sacrifices of our brave servicemen and women be for nothing. Let's put our hard-won freedoms to work and create a better way for all.

Peacebuilding is Economical
(Guest Blog from Annette Karr, Department of Peace Activist from McPherson, Kansas)

http://www.change.org/ideas/2028/view_blog/peacebuilding_is_economical

During this current economic crisis, great effort has been directed in cutting costs both in the public and private sector. There are three areas that place a substantial drain on our nation’s budget. It occurs in the emergency room,    the court room and the prison cell.

Through proactive measures dealing with the prevention of violence, we have been able to skim some of these costs, but our communities are in need of more focused intentional approaches to these challenges.

I recently represented Kansas at the national conference of The Peace Alliance, which is an organization focused on the passage of the bill H.R. 808. The bill deals with the development of a cabinet level Department of Peace.
Since 85% of the bill centers on domestic concerns, the majority of the speakers were individuals working in violence prevention programs across our country. One of the most impressive speakers was Azim Khamisa whose 20 year old son was gunned down by a 14 year old gang member in 1995. In the midst of unspeakable grief and despair, he came to the realization that there were victims on both ends of the gun. He and Plez Felix, the grandfather of the man who killed his son have developed a program where they speak to elementary and middle school students about the consequences of violence, and as the two men stand next to one another, their message extends beyond the prevention of violence into the ultimate demonstration of peace.

Mr. Khamisa, along with a host of others working in the nuts and bolts process of peace provided us with information about their programs. We also heard from a sampling of those working in the international field.

The conference concluded with a morning on Capitol Hill where the participants met with over 200 members of Congress or their staff to lobby for the bill H.R. 808.

Peace is not an ethereal concept. It is a practical matter desperately needed in our society. There is a wealth of individuals and programs across the nation working to lessen the need for the emergency rooms, court rooms and prison cells. Through the umbrella of a Department of Peace, those individuals and programs could receive some funding and communication to provide their services more efficiently, thus, making the Department of Peace cost effective.
Our society recognizes the need to teach our children to read, and are willing to invest in that endeavor. It provides our citizens with an essential tool that reaches into many aspects of our society including the individual’s economic needs. Our children need to be educated in the same intentional manner in how to live in a nonviolent world.

More information can be found at www.thepeacealliance.org

Read the article here: http://www.change.org/ideas/2028/view_blog/is_the_issue_guns_or_gun_violence

Is the Issue Guns? Or "Gun Violence"?

by Ted Nunn

Is the Issue Guns? Or "Gun Violence"?

by Ted Nunn

One of the many cool things about Nonviolent Communication is the teaching about uncovering the un-met needs that lie beneath the surface of many heated arguments. What we often find is that underneath the fuss and fury is often a common objective; something both parties can agree on.
I suspect this may be the case with the long-standing argument over gun control, and that the highly charged exchanges are indicative of an inability to get to the underlying needs. For example, I'm thinking most gun control advocates would not really care how many guns are out there if they could be well assured that those guns don't represent any danger to them, their loved ones, or anyone else.
On the same hand, gun owners (the legal ones, anyway) are never going to argue that they have the right to harm someone for no good reason. I think that both parties can agree that we all have mutual concern for the safety of the people we care about, and the real issue is gun violence. Maybe if we shift the discussion to "gun violence reduction" we can all start pulling on the same end of the rope.
Now, I'm not going to add to the speculation about what the Framers had in mind when they crafted the second amendment. What they may have meant by "militia" or "arms". However, I think it's safe to say they had no concept of the lethal nature of today's firearms. And it would be a real stretch to say that today's network of gun owners in America looks anything like a "well regulated militia."
So, with all the controversy around the issue, I propose we drop the historical debate and figure out what we need to do to make things work under the reality that is today. What's it going to take to satisfy the needs of all sides of the debate? If non-gun owners can be assured that there will be no violence from guns, then gun owners can have their guns and not have to keep worrying that they will be taken away. What would that look like?
For starters, we need to acknowledge the true cost of gun ownership in the country, and make sure gun owners foot their share of the bill. Car owners have to have insurance to pay for the dangers of driving. Why shouldn't gun owners have to carry insurance in case their guns are used for violence? Drivers also take driving lessons and pass a safety test before they are given a license. And they have to retake the test every few years. Why shouldn't we expect the same thing from gun owners? Car owners have to renew their registration every couple of years. Why not the same thing for gun owners? That way we can be assured that we can trace gun ownership, just like cars. Yes, some guns will be stolen, just like some cars. But at least we'll have a good handle on which guns are missing and in danger of being in the wrong hands.
And take cigarettes (...Please!). Cigarettes have hefty sales taxes levied in recognition of the cost to society of dealing with the adverse health impact and to discourage smoking. Why not tax guns and ammunition sales to the level that pays for the extra police forces, medical attention and other costs of gun violence? If we accept that gun ownership is a right, let's make sure that the people who choose to own guns pay for the cost to society of exercising that right.
There's also technology to capture and track the "DNA" signature of guns and bullets. If gun owners truly have no intention of using their firearms for violence, then they should not be reluctant to submit to these controls. The only time it would be a problem for them is if they shoot somebody.
But none of these taxes and regulations really do anything to directly reduce gun violence. I'd like to see things like mandatory anger management or nonviolent conflict resolution classes required before someone can hold a gun. Prove to me that you have the skills to resolve your differences without resorting to violence, and I will feel OK about you having a gun.
Obviously, there is a lot of room for creativity here - something the proposed Department of Peace or a Blue Ribbon Task Force would facilitate. We just need to get past the sloganeering and grandstanding on all sides of the issue and figure out how to make it work for everyone. The sooner, the better.
 

1968

2009

History of the demand for a U.S. Department of Peace - 1926/1927

Proposal Pamphlet by Kirby Page!!

Click this link to see the 1926/1927 document
http://picasaweb.google.com/chelseeea/ANationalPeaceDepartmentByKirbyPage?feat=directlink#


This recent discovery was made by Chelsea!

Chelsea researched, FOUND, PURCHASED and SCANNED a pamphlet from 1926 that lays out the Department of Peace bill proposal. I'm too revved up to read it just yet.

But it looks like the bill HUNDREDS of Americans were in Washington DC lobbying for just last week (march 23rd) and tens of thousands are insisting upon. THANK YOU CHELSEA!!!

I wonder if Carrie Catt (Well known suffragette who suggested the Cabinet level Dept of Peace in 1925) and Kirby Page (who put it in writing in 1926 or 1927) were friends?

History of the Department of Peace - first suggested in 1925 by Carrie Catt! Click this link to see the Carrie Catt post: http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=139432075&blogId=480619350

 

1926 Proposal for a Department of Peace

 

2009 National Department of Peace Conference

1926 A NATIONAL PEACE DEPARTMENT
"..it is apparent to all that permanent peace cannot be achieved until many prevailing attitudes and existing practices are changed.

2009 Florida Campaign for a U.S. Department of Peace - Lobbying Senator Bill Nelson's office during the National Department of Peace Conference (March 23rd, 2009)

 

1926 "Is there a single valid reason why this idea should be dismissed as being visionary or Utopian?"

 

2009 National Student Peace Alliance Executive Director Aaron Voldman speaking at the Department of Peace Conference.

 

1926 "It is suggested that interested persons secure quantities of this study proposal for wide use in classes, discussion groups and forums.
30 cents for 10 copies
$3.00 per hundred
Kirby Page 

 

2009 "The Peace Alliance -

Campaign to Establish a U.S. Department of Peace.
There is currently a bill before Congress....."

 

Support www.ThePeaceAlliance.org

Physically, Spiritually, Financially.