PEACE GRANNIES EMBRACE THE HEALTH CARE ISSUE

New York City peace grannies -- the Granny Peace Brigade and its sister group, Grandmothers Against the War -- who have heretofore focused on urging an end to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, have expanded our horizons to the fight for universal health care.

"These are two issues of extreme urgency to the U.S." said Barbara Walker, a member of both granny groups, "and each is at a critical juncture. The issues really can't be separated, as the gross funding for the unnecessary and doomed wars wastes money which could be used to cover all citizens' health needs."

Nine grandmas participated in an action held on Sept. 29, 2009, in front of the Bristol-Myers Squibb and Aetna insurance companies. In addition, there was a gaggle of Raging Grannies singing their satiric new lyrics to old standards. A surprisingly large turnout gathered in front of Bristol-Myers, and after a rally and a picket line which circled in front of the company's building, walked approximately 13 blocks down Park Avenue to the Aetna building, where they again formed a picket line for about an hour. A number of disabled people in wheelchairs participated in the action, adding to the drama of the occasion and demonstrating effectively the need for reform.

Earlier in the day, 16 protesters were arrested inside the Aetna building when they refused to leave until Aetna changed their policies (in both senses of the word). Among the arrestees was another of our Granny Peace Brigade women. She along with the other arrestees, was held in jail for 26 hours.

With the wars and the battle for good health coverage at critical crossroads right now, we grandmothers are busy trying to cover it all. We continue to hold our regular Wednesday afternoon Rockefeller Center peace vigils, with special emphasis on trying to convince Barack Obama to review his Afghanistan policy and withdraw troops there rather than escalate them. This is very important at this time as reports in the media indicate he is conferring on his Afghan policy with the objective possibly of changing it (remember that word, "Change," Mr. President).

We grannies are also holding regular "phone-athons" in public spaces where we offer our cell phones free of charge to passers-by in order that they may call their congressional representatives regarding shutting down the wars.

We are also organizing for our annual No Bases Teach-in Nov. 8, which this year will concentrate on U.S. military bases throughout the Pacific -- Japan, the Philippines and South Korea. It is the grandmothers' conviction that the 1,000 plus installations throughout the world are very destructive and counter-productive, not to mention cost-inefficient, and most should be permanently closed.

Counter-recruitment is another granny focus, in which we distribute Opt-Out literature to students, parents and faculty at high schools and colleges and lecture at PTA and other meetings.

Since our arrest in October 2005, which put us on the map, so to speak, as a significant anti-war force, we grandmothers have engaged in all the above plus many other endeavors. Our grandmother energy, dedication and creativity demonstrate to all that older people can play vital roles all their lives for the betterment of the world and themselves.

And, now we will devote some of that energy and commitment to the desperate need for a single payer health care plan. Maybe we won't live to benefit from universal health care ourselves, but we're going to make damned sure that our kids and grandkids get the opportunity for affordable and decent coverage. Watch for further news on this subject -- we've just begun to fight!

MY NEW SONG VIDEO ON HEALTH CARE, "PLEASE COVER ME"

HEAR JOAN WILE'S NEW SONG.
"PLEASE COVER ME,"
ON YOUTUBE VIDEO,
ADVOCATING PUBLIC OPTION FOR HEALTH CARE
(sorry, you'll have to copy and paste)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3M_iGyer_g


GRANDMOTHERS AGAINST THE WAR FOUNDER-DIRECTOR AND GRANNY PEACE BRIGADE CO-FOUNDER, JOAN WILE, AN ASCAP SONGWRITER, AND NINA KRSTIK, A PUBLIC TELEVISION DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKER, HAVE CREATED A NEW VIDEO ADVOCATING FOR SINGLE PAYER/PUBLIC OPTION HEALTH CARE REFORM, WITH JOAN'S NEW SONG, "PLEASE COVER ME," AS THE TEXT. IT IS HOPED THAT THIS VIDEO WILL ADD SIGNIFICANTLY TO THE PUBLIC OPTION SIDE OF THE DEBATE NOW IN THE FOREFRONT OF THE PUBLIC'S ATTENTION.

PLEASE FORWARD WIDELY! THANK YOU!

MY NEW VIDEO OF MY SONG, "GUANTANAMO"

Please listen/watch this new video and pass it around. It is a musical indictment of our distressing policy about Guantanamo. Perhaps its circulation will help get it closed. I speak for myself and my two anti-war organiations, the Granny Peace Brigade, and Grandmothers Against the War. Listen to your granny!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_

GRANNIES HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN

WAR STILL NO. 1 ISSUE FOR PEACE GRANNIES
Two Vigil Protests Held Weekly

As most of America focuses on the death of Michael Jackson, Sarah Palin's garbled resignation interview and Gov. Sanford's marital straying, New York's peace grandmothers still concentrate on the all-important issue of war and peace. As they have since we invaded Iraq, the women and their supporters feel it is urgent that the troops come home from both Iraq and Afghanistan. "There has never been nor can ever be anything to be accomplished by these immoral wars other than death and destruction," said Barbara Walker, one of the peace grandmothers.

They have recently stepped up the momentum of their anti-war actions so that, in addition to maintaining their five-and-a-half plus years Wednesday Grandmothers Against the War vigil at Rockefeller Center, the sister group Granny Peace Brigade now holds a Friday "Costs of War" tableau protest at the Times Square recruitment center (re-named, laughably, the U.S. Military Career Center). In this event, the grannies have a choreographed Q & A routine displaying on posters the answers to such chanted questions as: How much does it cost to keep one soldier deployed in Iraq? How many Iraqi civilians killed? How many soldier suicides? How many starving Iraqi children?

The location at Times Square is very significant for the grannies, inasmuch as 18 of them were arrested and jailed there when they tried to enlist in October 2005 in order to replace America's grandchildren so they could live long lives like the grannies have been privileged to enjoy. They were on trial for 6 days in Manhattan's criminal court and were acquitted after their defense by civil liberties lawyer Norman Siegel and his associate, Earl Ward. The story traveled around the world overnight and was instrumental in jump-starting the anti-war movement, which had been largely quiescent before then.

The media is invited to either or both of these events any time. The Rockefeller Center vigil is held religiously every week no matter what the weather. The recruitment center action may be affected by the weather, so it is advisable to call me if it is raining.

ROCKEFELLER CENTER VIGIL
PLACE: West side of 5th Ave. between 49th and 50th Sts.
DAY AND TIME: Wednesday afternoons, 4:30 - 5:30 p.m.

TIMES SQUARE RECRUITING CENTER PROTEST
PLACE: Broadway and 43rd St.
DAY AND TIME: Fridays, noon to 1:30 p.m.

I DON'T WANNA HAVE SEX IN TWO BATHTUBS

Commentary on Cialis erectile dysfunction commercials
featuring an older man and a woman sitting in two bathtubs

CIALIS, CIALIS
YOU'RE A PAIN IN OUR NECKS
WHAT INCREDIBLE MALICE
PUSHING TWO-BATHTUB SEX

SEX IN TWO TUBS
WOULD PRODUCE NIGHTMARES, NOT DREAMS
LIKE TWO GIANT SUBS
IN TWO ROCKY STREAMS

DO WE DO IT IN ONE?
OR GET LAID ACROSS TWO?
THAT'S NOT MY IDEA OF FUN
LET'S SEE HOW YOU'D DO

ERECTIONS? FORGET IT!
I'LL LIVE HAPPILY WITHOUT
IF SEX ENDS, THEN LET IT,
I'D RATHER HAVE GOUT

ASTOUNDING GRANDMAMAS RECITE FOUNDING PAPAS' WORDS

Forsaking picnics and hotdog contests, two staples of New York City July 4 celebrations, area peace grandmothers held a unique holiday event, the Third Annual Reading of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence in beautiful Strawberry Fields. The readings were conducted on a gorgeous day in Yoko Ono's Central Park oasis dedicated to the memory of her husband, John Lennon. It is believed that this celebration is unique in the United States.

More than 100 people attended, many volunteering to read various amendments. Among the readers were 94-year-old Marie Runyon, and 90-year-old Molly Klopot, both members of the legendary Granny Peace Brigade. Marie and Molly were arrested and jailed in October 2005 when they, along with 16 other Brigade women, attempted to enlist in the military at the Times Square recruiting station.

The grannies were on trial for 6 days in Criminal Court, defended successfully by eminent civil liberties and Constitutional scholar, Norman Siegel, who led the ceremonies today. At times, Siegel commented on how some of the amendments were being subverted today, as well as giving interesting background information on the creation of the documents. For instance, he pointed out how Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution specifies that only Congress shall declare war, and yet since the end of World War 2, we've been involved in too many wars not declared by that body in too many places we shouldn't have been and shouldn't now be. He also explained that the 1st Amendment, which guarantees the right of citizens to peaceably assemble has been abused right in Central Park where it is now forbidden to gather in large groups to peacefully protest. He urged the attendees to fight to "take back our park."

Siegel remarked: "The Constitutional system -- we should try it sometime. If we followed the Constitution, many of our civil rights and civil liberties problems would be substantially reduced."

Other readers included Progressive Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, Jonathan Tasini; long-time gay and civil rights activist, Andy Humm; members of the Raging Grannies (who sang some of their satiric songs about contemporary issues); Grandmothers Against the War; Military Families Speak Out; the Gray Panthers; Veterans for Peace, and Code Pink.

"These are the true patriots," remarked Norman Siegel, "The real Red, White and Blue. People who care about the principles on which our nation was founded and want to see them maintained and celebrated."

"THE GRANNY 7" SCORE ONE FOR THE FIRST AMENDMENT

The "Granny 7," the seven intrepid women of the Granny Peace Brigade who were arrested and jailed on March 18, 2009, when they protested at the Times Square recruiting station against the Afghanistan war escalation and the retention of 50,000 troops in Iraq after the official withdrawal date, achieved a victory April 14 for the First Amendment principle protecting peaceful protest.

At a court appearance at Manhattan Community Court, it was declared that the City of New York "declined to prosecute." It would seem that the decision was influenced by the arrest of 18 Granny Peace Brigade members on Oct. 17, 2005, when they tried to enlist at the Times Square recruiting center to replace America's grandchildren in harm's way in Iraq. Those grannies were put on trial for six days in criminal court at the end of which they were acquitted. The resultant world-wide publicity did nothing to polish the image of the Big Apple -- photographs and television footage of old women being handcuffed and poured into paddy wagons for non-violent protest tended to make New York's Finest look more like New York's Meanest.

One can logically assume that the decision of the D.A.'s office not to prosecute on April 14 indicates a less punitive stance by the authorities toward peaceful dissent, a First Amendment privilege. It is hoped that this is indicative of a softer policy of New York City to public protest. Non-violent demonstrators during the last few years have met with harsh treatment, most notably at the Republican convention of 2004 when many were incarcerated for up to two days in a dirty old pier with no sleeping facilities. Prisoners had to sleep and sit on a filthy and oil-stained cement floor and were given hardly any food. Compensation has been paid to some as a result of lawsuits lodged against the City, and many cases are still pending.

The seven grannies are Jenny Heinz, 65; Beverly Rice, 70; Joan Pleune, 70 (one of the original Freedom Riders); Barbara Walker, 75; Nydia Leaf, 76; Carol Husten, 77, and Lillian Lifflander, 89 (a World War II veteran). Ms. Lifflander was unable to make the court appearance because she was admitted to a V.A. hospital with chest pains the night before.

Once the decision was announced, the Granny Peace Brigade marched down Broadway to the Times Square recruitment center, the scene of both their arrests, and briefly demonstrated, again putting a strip of yellow crime scene tape in front of the military building. They vowed to continue their struggle to persuade President Obama to reverse his Iraq and Afghan policies. The grannies mostly have been enthusiastic supporters of the President, but feel he is making a tragic mistake . "We are doing what he asked us to do -- to let him know when we think he is off on the wrong track," said one of the women.

The eminent civil liberties attorney, Norman Siegel, who represented the grandmothers in both the 2006 trial and the current case, stated: "These grannies are women of conscience. They acted in the great American tradition of peaceful non-violence. They protested our government's military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. They should be applauded."