RAIN-DRENCHED, WIND-TOSSED NEW YORK CITY PEACE GRANNIES HOLD MEMORIAL FOR THE 1,000 DEAD G.I.s IN AFGHANISTAN

It seems as if most of our U.S. populace has forgotten that U.S. soldiers are dying in Afghanistan. Focused on Tiger Woods' sex life and, more understandably, the seemingly endless, unresolvable health reform and jobs battles in Washington, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan appear to be ignored.

However, a group of New York city peace grannies and their supporters DO remember, and they publicly so acknowledged on Tuesday, Feb. 23, the just-announced grim tally of 1,000 U.S. soldiers' loss of life in Afghanistan. The event was coordinated by Grandmothers Against the War and the Granny Peace Brigade. Members of Peace Action New York, Veterans for Peace, The World Can't Wait, the Gray Panthers, Brooklyn for Peace, and the Raging Grannies attended as well.

On the cold, wet and windy evening, approximately 30 mostly elderly people assembled in front of Rockefeller Center on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan to pay tribute to the 1,000 American G.I.s sacrificed in the wrong-headed war in Afghanistan. They also mourned the many Afghani deaths caused by our missiles and bombs.

The great actor-author, Malachy McCourt , opened the proceedings with a powerful speech lambasting the tragic expenditure of life and resources in the hopeless pursuit of peace through war. A statement of support by NY State Senator Bill Perkins, who had to be in Albany with the legislature, was read. Following that, the vigil members read the names of deceased soldiers AND deceased Afghani civilians to the accompaniment of a single muffled drum beat.

It was startling and extremely saddening to hear that so many of the Afghanis whose names were read were small children. One wondered: How can we feel morally justified in waging a war that causes so many innocent people to die whom we are supposedly protecting?

Strangely enough, the police erected a barricade around the anti-war stalwarts. This had never been done before in the six plus years that Grandmothers Against the War, the Vets for Peace and the Granny Peace Brigade have been holding a weekly Wednesday vigil on that Rockefeller Center site.

The soggy Peaceniks then walked down Fifth Avenue and over to the Times Square recruiting station where the Raging Grannies sang familiar songs with their revised anti-war lyrics. They kept singing despite the fact that several policemen insisted that the group leave. Finally, thoroughly soaked and shivering, the hardy old folks (and a few young ones) dispersed.

It is worth quoting part of Sen. Perkins' statement: "It is obvious that the lessons of the unjust war launched by the previous Bush administration have yet to sink in on the current administration. Each day the goal of honorable victory will be ever more elusive. The goal of an honorable peace for a dishonorable war will continue to have its price."

As I write, one day later, the tragic number of our young military dead in Afghanistan has climbed to 1,0

PEACE GRANNIES PREPARE MEMORIAL FOR 1,000TH G.I. DEATH IN AFGHANISTAN

On Saturday, Feb. 20, U.S. military fatalities in Afghanistan reached a total of 999. With the likelihood of the toll reaching 1,000 in the next day or two, peace grannies in New York City have planned a special commemorative vigil to be held the day AFTER the dreaded number has been announced.

It is requested that people be on the alert for a probable event on either Monday or Tuesday, Feb. 22 and 23. The day after the announcement, all New York City peace groups will meet at 5:30 p.m. at the Grandmothers Against the War regular weekly Rockefeller Center vigil site on the west side of 5th Ave. between 49th and 50th Sts. Other peace groups participating will be the Granny Peace Brigade, Veterans for Peace, the Raging Grannies, Peace Action NYS (PANIX), The World Can't Wait, Code Pink, Gray Panthers, West Side Peace Action, and others. A large turnout is anticipated.

In a candlelight ceremony, names of U.S. military and Afghan citizens who have died in war-related incidents will be read, to the somber beat of a drum. Invited political and celebrity speakers, including actor/author Malachy McCourt, State Sen. Bill Perkins, civil liberties attorney, Norman Siegel, and others will make brief remarks. At 6:30 p.m., the vigil group will walk to the Times Square recruiting center for songs and more comments.

It is the hope of the grannies that this public occasion will send a strong message to the war-makers that it is time to bring the hostilities to an end and replace missiles with missions.... destruction with diplomacy.

"It's the same sad story," said Barbara Walker, associate director of Grandmothers Against the War. "Our bombs increase anti-Americanism, cause death and untold damage to all, and achieve nothing positive. As in Iraq, our "surge" in Afghanistan has caused a dramatic increase of casualties to our American kids valiantly fighting there, for no apparent recognizable goal achieved. We must bring our troops home and rethink our foreign policy."

The Grandmothers Against the War vigil has been held for over six years with only two missed occasions -- the latest Christmas tree lighting ceremony which blocked access, and the recent impenetrable snow storm. Otherwise, the grannies, with their regular cohorts, the Granny Peace Brigade, and Vets for Peace, are there in rain, sleet, snow, cold and heat -- even the several vigil grannies in their 90s.

PLEASE JOIN US IN SENDING THIS URGENT MESSAGE TO THE POWERS THAT BE!!

WHY IS MY LIFE DETERMINED BY 100 CLUELESS, PAMPERED SENATORS?

I don't think our system of government is really working any more. Maybe it's time to ditch it and try something else.

Because those Washington blow-hards are not concerned at all with me and my problems nor anyone else's, for that matter, except, of course, for the corporations that woo them.

Do they, with their life-long pensions, care that my measly social security benefits have been capped for the next few years? Do they, with their excellent comprehensive free health coverage, care that despite Medicare, a major illness could wipe me out? Do they, with their two residences, care that housing costs are so prohibitive that I am desperately trying to avoid giving up my one small apartment? Do they, with their comfortable salaries, lecture fees and book contracts (to say nothing of their bribes and sometimes mis-used "campaign contributions") care that out-of-sight rising costs for basic necessities of life mean I can't afford a new pair of shoes or a dinner out once in a while?

And, above all, do they, with their ability to manipulate the system and keep their kids out of harm's way, care that my grandson or granddaughter might have to dodge explosives in unjustified and immoral wars for oil championed by men too old to fight?

I think not.

Maybe when our forefathers conjured up our system of government, elected officials had a greater sense of responsibility toward their fellow citizens. Perhaps they really DID try to make decisions that they conceived would benefit people the most. At that time, maybe, our representatives truly represented us, at least as honorably and conscientiously as they could.

But, now, that integrity, except for a few noble souls, seems to have vanished. They are for the most part a bunch of inept, egomaniacal, greedy retards whose only activity, apparently, is to endlessly fight each other, engage in sex scandals, and follow a no-risk path to ensure re-election. THEY ACCOMPLISH NOTHING FOR THE PUBLIC GOOD!

Why should I trust my lot to them? It makes no sense.

It is reported that Sarah Palin is calling for a revolution. Well, so am I, but not her whacky one.

. I call for an end to media advertising, thus obviating the need for huge campaign funds, and necessitating the candidates to speak directly to the people. Remember the Lincoln-Douglas debates. That was how the people got their impressions of the contenders, not through some advertising copywriter's empty slogan or glitzed-up visual.

. I ask that no official be allowed to receive more than $100 in contributions from any source.

. I ask that a national register be put into effect indicating which bills are introduced, sponsored and voted upon by every Senator. It would be published daily in every newspaper in the nation.

. I want a system to be developed whereby every Senator must be held accountable by his constituents on a regular basis, and if he or she doesn't measure up, they have the right to oust him or her immediately.

. I ask that every Senator with eligible children make certain that those kids enlist in the military and request battle assignments.

Those are a few of my ideas. I would love to hear others' thoughts on this matter. In the meantime, I'll continue my Granny Peace Brigade street actions, my petitions, my letters to the editor, my YouTube political songs, and everything else I've been doing to try and stop the wars, reverse the failure to reform health care, stem the economic melt-down and all the other catastrophes our Senators and Congress people have totally failed to resolve. My efforts haven't proved very effective, unfortunately, but it's all I've got -- until we basically change the structure of our government.

Therefore, I say -- throw the rascals out and reform the system!!

NEW YORK PEACE GRANNIES TO MARK 1000TH AMERICAN DEATH

As the American military death toll nears the 1,000 mark in Afghanistan, anti-war grandmothers and their supporters are preparing in advance to mark the grim occasion. The grannies held special commemorations for the 3,000th and 4,000th American death in Iraq, and now are planning to perform the same heartbreaking task for those unfortunate soldiers sacrificed to the war in Afghanistan.

"Perhaps most of the public is not much concerned with these wars and their casualties, but the peace grannies always have been, are now and will continue to be until they are stopped," said 94-year-old Lillian Pollak, an active member of the Granny Peace Brigade, one of the organizers of the event. "We will publicly acknowledge the carnage in the hope that we will awaken citizens to the fact that the wars are still being waged with their resultant unjustified death and destruction -- not only of our own young people but of countless innocent civilians. We must not let up in our efforts to end these immoral occupations."

Please be advised that a special memorial will be held the day AFTER the 1,000th fatality is announced. People are asked to meet at 5:30 p.m. at the site of the regular Wednesday Rockefeller Center Grandmothers Against the War vigil -- the west side of Fifth Ave. between 49th and 50th Sts. They will vigil there for approximately one hour and then slowly walk to the recruitment center in Times Square for a short appearance. The grannies will be joined by Veterans for Peace, who regularly stand with them on Wednesdays, and other loyal followers.

It is requested that people bring candles and flashlights. Names of the dead will be read. Celebrated persons in in the arts and government have been invited to eulogize the lost lives.

The count is as of this date (Feb. 1) 977, so it is likely that the 1,000th death will occur within the next month or two. Those who plan to attend are asked to be vigilant in observing the count so that they can participate at the right moment.

Regretfully, the casualties continue to mount in Iraq, as well, though not to the extent they have in the past. American deaths there now total 4,375. Hopefully, the U.S. will have pulled out before the total reaches the dreaded 5,000. Rest assured, the indomitable grannies will continue their non-stop efforts to make this a reality.

FIGHT BACK -- FOR YOUR OWN MENTAL HEALTH AS WELL AS THE HEALTH OF THE NATION

You don't have to tell me how depressed you are. I know, because I have sunk into the black depths, also. More troops sent to Afghanistan -- POW! No single payer, no public option -- ZAP! Republican conservative wins Kennedy seat in Massachusetts -- CRACK! Supreme Court okays corporate takeover of our political system -- BOP! And on and on the litany of assaults hits us in our minds, hearts and pocketbooks.

Gone the hopes for a new and better America. Gone the faith in a dazzling new, seemingly Progressive President. Gone the belief in the people's good sense. It seems so hopeless -- one wants to crawl into bed and pull the covers up and stay there. I know, I know.

BUT -- let's not. I'll tell you why. Fighting back not only fights the evil forces, it fights one's depression. I remember the day after W was re-elected for a second term. Talk about depression! The helpless, aching improbability of it -- we just wanted to give up, didn't we? I certainly did.

However, the day after his 2004 re-election was a Wednesday, the day every week that my group, Grandmothers Against the War, with an assist from the Granny Peace Brigade and some Veterans for Peace, holds a peace vigil in front of Rockefeller Center. We'd been doing it without missing a single Wednesday for almost a year. So, in order to sustain our spotless attendance record, I had to go despite my lethargy, my sadness, my utter misery. The other people standing on Fifth Avenue with me were equally distressed and ready to give up the struggle. You've never seen so many long faces.

Then, an amazing thing happened. As we stood there with our peace signs and banners, the black clouds in our minds began to waft away. Slowly, we began to smile and chatter with our usual good spirits. By the end of the vigil, we were practically jubilant. Nothing had changed -- the grim reality was still the fact that the worst President in history was going to head the government for another four years and reap hideous injustices and catastrophes. But, WE had changed. We had decided to press on and continue battling for our issues.

It was clear that in the act of fighting back, we were able to banish our hopeless feelings. The psychiatrists say that depression is repressed anger. Maybe there's something to that theory. Certainly, in our case it seemed to be at least partly true. By taking action, we were in a sense expressing our anger -- but in a constructive way.

The nation survived that crisis, and ultimately things turned around -- a bit. We got a President who is both a Democrat and a black man. We put a Democratic majority in the Senate. It's true that these promising steps have not yet produced hardly any of the progressive reforms that we envisioned, but I think we could agree that we moved a little bit forward.

All right, we've fallen back. Big time. But, isn't that the pattern of history? I'm no historian, so I can only refer to things that have happened in my lifetime. For instance, the war to end all wars -- that didn't. The war to end poverty --that didn't. The liberals followed by the neocons followed by the liberals followed by the neocons. It seems there is no such thing as lasting progress. But, that mustn't defeat us.

Instead, let's pick ourselves up, yet again, dust ourselves off, and get back into the arena. We may not yet save the planet, we may not yet save our economy, we may not yet save our democratic institutions...but at least we'll save our sanity.

And maybe, just maybe, we'll inch forward more than we slip backward.

GRANNIES' SIXTH-YEAR ROCKEFELLER CENTER VIGIL COMMEMORATION PREEMPTED BY THE TABLOID FOUR -- JAY, CONAN, TIGER AND HARRY

Good God, are our country's priorities mixed up! Imagine! The number one story recently before the Haiti earthquake in what is laughably called The News was about two super-rich show biz boys of arrested development whining like toddlers over their million dollar late-night toys. In addition, the other prominent stories in print and on the air waves which claim to deliver us vital coverage, diddled around about a golfer's sex life and a Senator's time-warped political remark, whipping the unfortunate but not ill-intentioned comment into the politically incorrect gaffe of the decade. Where is the sense of the media functioning as the truth-telling chroniclers of the people's business, I ask you?

One could easily despair of having one's message communicated to the public. Despite that, New York City peace granny groups -- Grandmothers Against the War, the Granny Peace Brigade, and the Raging Grannies -- held an historic event on Fifth Avenue in front of Rockefeller Center Wednesday, Jan. 13, commemorating SIX years of their weekly peace vigil there begun on Jan. 14, 2004. Approximately 30 people stood in the bitter cold on Fifth Avenue to mark the long dedication of the vigilers.

Every effort was made to induce the media to cover the occasion, but no one showed up except for a journalist from Afghanistan radio and press. Perhaps this was attributable to the Haiti disaster, not just the sensation-seeking bent of today's reportage, but nevertheless one would hope there were a few journalists left to cover other substantial stories. The grannies were naturally disappointed at the press and media inattention but welcomed the chance, as they do every week, of showing passers-by, most of whom are tourists from around the globe, that at least some Americans have not succumbed to the apathy of the masses and are passionately struggling to end the terrible and immoral wars.

New York State Sen. Bill Perkins spoke of the importance of the grannies' weekly protest of the Iraq and Afghan wars, and remarked about the appropriateness of the occasion because of its conjunction with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday this coming Friday, Jan. 15. He suggested that the vigil attendees sing "We Shall Overcome," The group formed a circle and sang the stirring hymn out there on the sidewalks of New York, twice.

Names of the dead in Afghanistan, both our American military and Afghan civilians, were solemnly read, each name accompanied by the mournful sound of a ringing bell.

Among those marking the end of six years was a contingent of Veterans for Peace, who have stood with the grannies "On the Avenue" for almost the entire six-year watch. One of them, Chaplain Hugh Bruce, a Vietnam vet, spoke movingly at the vigil, noting that it we weren't pouring billions into these destructive and unjust wars we could ensure health care for everyone. Jenny Heinz, one of the original vigil stalwarts. also spoke to the group. "It's very sad to still be here at the beginning of the seventh year," Jenny said, "and to recognize that things are worse, not better -- policies that we thought were limited to the Bush administration now seem to have become institutionalized."

Said 94-year-old Lillian Pollak, a regular at the vigils, "It is imperative that our presence be known to the public. Mostly, the American people are oblivious to the fact that our young soldiers are dying and being grievously wounded more and more as the Afghanistan occupation is escalated. Also, people need to be made aware that we have continuing casualties in Iraq. This is to say nothing of the many, many innocent civilians who've become victims to our unethical bombs and drones. We grannies have tried in vain to stop these wars, but have to face the fact that we may not be able to do so in our lifetimes. We feel a duty to keep on keeping on as long as we are able and hope the American people will carry on our struggle after we are no longer here."

Barbara Walker, the Associate Director of Grandmothers Against the War, which initiated the vigil in 2004, and a co-founder of the Granny Peace Brigade, made a point of noting that the vigil has been held every single week all six years no matter what the elements throw at it -- rain, sleet, heat or cold. The only time the grandmothers were unable to hold a vigil was recently before Christmas on tree-lighting day when the vigil site was blocked from access. "That's a pretty good record for us old ladies, some in their 90's," she said proudly. One would have to agree, observing several of the women standing for the entire hour hanging on to walkers and canes.

Makes one marvel at the sterner stuff of these elder women of conscience, doesn't it? Let's hope they are not a dying breed.

SINGING PEACE GRANNIES INVADE BROOKLYN'S TARGET STORE WITH SONGS AND PROTESTS AGAINST WAR TOYS

Weary Brooklyn Christmas shoppers were unexpectedly entertained on Friday afternoon, Dec. 18, when a troupe of approximately 20 Granny Peace Brigade members and Raging Grannies sang revised Christmas carols condemning war toys at the TARGET Store in Flatbush's Atlantic Shopping Center simultaneously with a serious demonstration against the toxic playthings. This was the second protest in the grannies' recently-launched campaign called "NO MORE WAR TOYS, NO MORE WARS." The first action took place on December 4 at the Times Square Toys "R" Us store,

Although warned by the police earlier in the day to not attempt to conduct any mischief inside TARGET, the grannies nevertheless "invaded" the store at approximately 4 p.m. and quickly went to the toy department where they filled up four carts and some baskets with the most violent toys ever conceived.

The grannies then rode them down the escalator while unfurling many bright yellow banners imprinted with the black letters, "WAR IS NOT A GAME" and "NO MORE WAR TOYS." As they rode down to the next floor, they sang the famous John Lennon refrain, "Give Peace a Chance."

They intended to leave the toy-filled carts and baskets at the check-out counter, but by the time the elderly crusaders and the carts reached the bottom of the escalator, however, a bevy of policemen was awaiting them and requested that they leave the store, which they did, singing and displaying their many banners as they wended their way outside.

The toys they gathered are disgraceful, to say the least -- guns with repeat bullets, grenades and all manner of killing machines designed to arouse the bloodlust of impressionable young children and teen-agers. The grannies, who have been trying for years to end the destructive and immoral wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, feel these toys militarize America's young and pave the way to more and more killing in the guise of protecting our homeland, a presumption the grandmothers reject.

Once outside, on Flatbush Avenue, the grandmothers opened their special songbooks and sang a number of Christmas carols which the women have revised with lyrics pleading that people not buy war toys. For, instance:

HARK, THE HERALD ANGELS SING
NOW, AT LAST, LET FREEDOM RING.
PEACE ON EARTH AND MERCY MILD,
NATIONS MUST BE RECONCILED.
LET US PUT THE BOMBS AWA-A-Y!
BRING OUR TROOPS HOME, NOW, TODA-A-Y
WARS ARE NOT FOR TOYS, OR A GAME.
DON'T TEACH OUR KIDS TO KILL AND MAIM!
GIVE THE CHILDREN TOYS OF PEACE,
HELP THEM TO LEARN THAT WARS MUST CEASE.

Passersby stopped to enjoy the concert, and many told the grandmothers that they agreed with them. The protesters gave out hundreds of leaflets listing appropriate toys for parents to buy rather than the horrendous ones glorifying lethal battle.

Other members of the grannies' audience included the eight or so cops assigned to protect Brooklyn from the dangerous aged terrorists. The officers stood across from the women throughout their entire songfest trying without success to hide their delight at the grandmas' vocal offerings.

Said the oldest singer, Lillian Pollak, hale and active at 94, "We won't be here forever, and if we can't stop these deplorable wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in our lifetime, we must at least do all within our power to convince our grandchildren that they must end the cycle of killing and waste we have been engaging in for far too long. We're determined to continue this struggle to bring back appropriate and healthy toys."