I'm pleased to report that the peace fair, “Peace-ing It Together” went very well for a first-time event. We had some first-rate organizers and publicity people. The faith communities of the Saratoga Unitarian, Quakers and Presbyterian-New England Congregational all supported the event with money and muscle. Great weather helped, too.

We are planning on doing it again next year, so if you have suggestions or want to be part of organizing the event, let me know. We'd love to have you.

We could especially use help in getting some folks other than the usual suspects to attend. We often end up preaching to the choir, as it were. I think I'm going to suggest that we invite all registered Democrats and Republicans in Saratoga, Albany, Rensselaer and Schenectady counties.

Elsewhere in the peacemaking community, we have a major civil nonviolent resistance (or civil disobedience depending on your word preference) action planned for Oct. 5 at the White House.

Oct. 5 is significant because it is the birth date of longtime (40 years) peace worker Phillip Berrigan, considered by some to be one of the fathers of the modern peace movement. He passed away in December 2002. Liz McAlister, his wife, will give one of the talks at the rally before the action.

The event is being coordinated and sponsored by: National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance (NCNR), Witness Against Torture, Peace Action, War Resisters League, Atlantic Life Community, Voices for Creative Nonviolence, Voters for Peace, Veterans for Peace, Code Pink, World Can’t Wait, Student Peace Action Network, Activist Response Team and others.

The action will be carried out by various affinity groups, focusing on:

1. Ending the U.S. war in Afghanistan;
2. Ending the U.S. occupation of Iraq;
3. Stopping the U.S. Drone bombings in Pakistan;
4. Closing Guantanamo and Bagram U.S. military prisons and;
5. Accountability for those responsible for allowing the U.S. to torture.

I know I should have written about it sooner but the peace fair pretty much took up my time. I've been on some organizing calls, helping with planning action support for those risking arrest.

Peace Works (PW), a local affinity group that promotes peace, will be participating. PW will be represented by husband and wife Jeffrey Halpern and Carol Graser as well as their son, Austin, along with Jack Jacknowitz and me.

At 10 years old, Austin is a pretty nifty kid. He is home-schooled and his parents are using this opportunity to teach a lesson in civics and participation in government. Needless to say he will not be risking arrest.

Jeffrey and Austin will be the support people for Carol, Jack and me if we are given the sacrament of the handcuffs.

We are hoping for several hundred people to participate in the civil resistance. I wonder who outside of the peace community even knows about the event – well besides the FBI, the NSA, the Secret Service and the CIA, that is. That group does a first-rate job of keeping up with the plans and activities of the peace community. They are truly to be commended for their efforts.

You can learn more about the Oct. 5 action by clicking HERE

Speaking of commendable efforts, Max Obuszewski was one of the exhibitors at the peace fair, and I had the honor of hosting him in my home. Max is a longtime promoter of nonviolence, and for his efforts was labeled a terrorist by the Maryland State Police. See my blog of 8/5/08 for more details of that little governmental faux pas (and MSP spent a few thousand tax payer dollars in the process). He was telling me he had read the transcripts of the MSP observations of him and other peacemakers going in and out of the post office, etc.

This past Sept. 16, Max was also part of a group trying to hold Karl Rove accountable for his actions under the Bush administration while he was giving a talk at Goucher College. Max believes in free speech, so he and Maria Alwine stood up before Rove, started to talk so as to not interrupt him to ask some questions and make some statements. Max and Maria were led out of the auditorium by the college security personnel but were not arrested.

Apparently some people in the audience felt it necessary to comment on Maria's sexuality and what they thought her sexual history might be. It got really vile, Max told me, although being the gentleman that he is he declined repeat exactly what was said, but just gave me the generalities in the first sentence of this paragraph.

You can see their Goucher College action by clicking HERE

I'll be sure and report on my Oct. 5 experience in D.C. as soon as I'm back.