Include photos or video if available.
Hayward
Twenty some Moratorium vigilers took to the street corner in Hayward on Friday to continue their stand against the war in Iraq. The election may be over but the war and occupation continue, and so will we! We made a dozen or so calls to our Congressman and Senators and asked them to start spending our tax dollars on health care and not warfare. We also collected non-perishable items for our local food shelf, which has seen a 25% increase in requests since this time last year. With thousands of our soldiers dead, and perhaps over one million Iraqi's dead since the invasion and occupation began in 2003, we have a moral imperative to continue our efforts. Please join us in December. President elect Obama needs our/your help in bringing this great tregedy to an end, and in forging a new set of national priorities for America.
Rice Lake
Bitterly cold winds and a spate of local events conspired to drive the turnout down in Rice Lake on Friday, though almost 10 hardy souls came out anyway to stand for peace for a couple of hours. A half a dozen telephone calls were made to Congressman Dave Obey's office in Washington urging him to support health care and not warfare, and callers report they were very well received by the Congressman's staff. On to December and an end to this war!
Superior/Duluth
Grandmothers for Peace, Standing for Peace. Fifteen sturdy anti-war enthusiasts showed up for the Grandmothers for Peace first Iraq Moratorium event in Superior on Friday, including newly elected 73rd District Assemblyman Nick Milroy. Single digit windchills, frozen fingers and rapidly encroaching darkness didn't stop peace supporters from making a dozen telephone calls to 7th District Congressman Dave Obey's office asking him to support "Healthcare Not Warfare." The Grannies vowed to be back next month and every month afterwards, no matter the weather, until this war is over. If the Grandmothers can do it, SO CAN YOU! See you in December. In Duluth we held a picket at Pennell Park along the busy Central Entrance. A dozen hearty souls participated.
Eau Claire
Eau Claire had its first Iraq Moratorium event on Friday, Nov. 21. Thirty hardy souls braved 15 degree temps and gusty winds to show our opposition to the continuing Iraq occupation. Some people, whose fingers weren't frozen, made calls to Wisconsin senators and representatives to urge them to make bringing the troops home the first priority of the new administration. After the event a number of energized people retired to Woo's Pagoda restaurant to thank them for the use of their parking lot, to enjoy great Asian food, and to begin plans for the December event. More from Voices for Peace Institute.
Madison
Citizens in Madison Friday night, Nov. 21, were thinking about ending war and torture, not only in Iraq but throughout as hemisphere. The Iraq Moratorium event collaborated with a School of the Americas memorial service and rally this cold night in Wisconsin. Peace activists first gathered at the State Street corner of Capitol Square, and quietly processed around the Square -- in commemoration of all who have suffered from the military machine -- especially thinking of those in Central and South America tonight, where the SOA at Ft. Benning has trained soldiers from abroad in crowd control and torture techniques. We finished the rally with a memorial service in the United Methodist Church near the Square (pictured.) This weekend there is a massive gathering in Georgia, near Fort Benning, to protest this school, and our event was in solidarity with that event. "We remember you!" All wars against people must end - and this gathering tonight provided an opportunity to connect Iraq and Colombia..... Judy Miner, SOAW and Iraq Moratorium advocate.
Milwaukee
The return to Central Standard Time guarantees that it will be dark and cold for vigils in Wisconsin for the foreseeable future. Friday's 25-degree temperature didn't faze about 60 participants in a rush hour vigil, march and rally in the heart of downtown.
A large campus contingent from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's chapter of Students for a Democratic Society brought a lot of energy to the event, the 15th Iraq Moratorium observance sponsored by Peace Action-Wisconsin and the Milwaukee Coalition for a Just Peace.
People stood on all four corners of the intersection with flags, banners, and signs, interacting with drivers who honked their horns to show support for ending the war and occupation.
After half an hour, an SDS-organized march went three blocks north to a corner across from City Hall, with chants along the way and a short rally before the marchers headed back to the start, where a handful of people had stayed behind to keep the street corner vigil going. More in Fight Back! newspaper.
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