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Notes from meeting 10/9/04:
Announcements:
The Northwest Social Forum has been cancelled (not just the march, the whole event). See their Web site for more details.
Brent recommends a book "The Freedom" by Christian Parenti about what's really happening in Iraq.
We will have another candle-lantern work party on Sunday, 10/17 at 2 pm (after bannering) to finish up the lanterns we constructed, and for folks who couldn't attend the first work party. It will be at Eric's, in the studio (122 N 105 St, 706-9070). The lanterns won't be needed for the NWSF but will come in handy for any future candlelight vigils or marches.
Next meeting: Sunday, Nov. 7 at Kay's, 12722 11th Ave NW
Bannering:
We will still be bannering Sundays at 12:30. There was a recommendation to change the message on the banner that says "END THE OCCUPATION" since it does not get as emphatic a response as "BRING OUR TROOPS HOME." Some folks thought that the "OCCUPATION" message is good to get out there since it makes people think about the fact that it is still an occupation. However, we decided to change it to "US OUT OF IRAQ" which says essentially the same thing but is easier to read.
Since there is some uncertainty about banner-making at MVP these days, we will try to stock our own banner-making supplies (stencils, tyvek, and really long staplers).
Tabling:
Gunnel got permission to staff a table inside a cafe just north of Greenlake (World Cafe?). 10 people indicated they would be willing to staff it one day a month (we decided Sat or Sun, 12-2 made the most sense at Greenlake). We will not start until after the election since people will be too busy until then.
November Tabling schedule:
Sat. 11/13 12-2: Tom & Brent
Sat. 11/20 12-2: Charles & Eric
Sat. 11/27 12-2: Gunnel & Jane
Possible post-election actions:
United for Peace & Justice is planning some sort of action immediately following the election to show that we're still here and will be pushing for peace regardless which War candidate is elected. Check their Web site for details.
Future education/action campaign:
We discussed what our next focus should be. Three main themes emerged: Victims of War (assisting Iraqi children injured in the war), Returning Troops (highlighting the problems facing troops returning with physical and/or mental injuries), and Civil Liberties (keeping the focus on our civil rights and getting more people involved in protecting them).
Victims of War
Gunnel had an example of a Victims of War campaign from San Francisco that got folks involved in helping to bring an injured girl over from Iraq to get a prosthetic arm (she was injured during bombing between the two Iraq wars). We could create posters, postcards, and handouts featuring an individual like this to show the human face of war. An easy way to start would be to plug into the exisiting campaign (nomorevictims.org) and expand it if we get a good response and more local partners. We decided that we should look into this and try to have at least a postcard ready for tabling in November to gauge reaction.
Returning Troops
We can see if there are any local groups dealing with the problems facing returning troops and work with them to get more support. Military Families Speak Out is one possibility. Gunnel will talk to Jim McDermott's office (he has often discussed this issue) and the guy with VFP who created Arlington NW (I forget his name...) Eric will research the Seattle Times articles on PTSD among returning veterans to see if there are any useful contacts. Note - Tom also sent out a notice about an informational picket at the VA Hospital highlighting Bush's budget cuts at a time of increasing need.
Films - one good possibility for events is to find films about these topics and hold a film series.
Civil Liberties
We did not discuss this option much besides the need to keep alert to the Patriot Act and Patriot 2 and stay vigilant.
Long-term planning
We concluded with a discussion about membership growth, diversity, etc. We may have a discussion about long-term goals next meeting. The good news is that our e-mail list membership is growing steadily (about 140 now) and we are about the only SNOW group that is growing. The potlucks are a big reason - Gunnel has shared that idea with other neighborhood groups.
We did decide that we should make an effort to try to get more widespread geographic representation within our neighborhoods since most of our active members are in Broadview. We dismissed the idea of pursuing stronger ties with other neighborhood groups (e.g. Shoreline, Lake City) as counterproductive at this point.