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<DIV><BR></DIV><FONT size=4>
<DIV align=center>Lift Your Head</DIV>
<DIV align=center>Cindy Sheehan</DIV></FONT><B><FONT color=#0000ff size=4>
<DIV></B></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><A href="http://us.f832.mail.yahoo.com/quote/27063.html"><B><FONT
color=#0000ff size=4>I cannot teach you violence, as I do not myself believe in
it. I can only teach you not to bow your heads before any one even at the cost
of your life</B></FONT></A><B><FONT size=4>……<I>Gandhi</DIV></B></FONT></I><FONT
size=4>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving
their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any Form of
Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to
alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, having its foundation
on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem
most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness….<I>Declaration of
Independence. </DIV></FONT>
<DIV> </DIV><FONT size=4>
<DIV align=justify>“</I>71 peaceful protestors arrested at Capitol.”</DIV>
<DIV align=justify></DIV>
<DIV align=justify>“Four peace activists arrested at Sen. Charles Grassley’s
office in Iowa.”</DIV>
<DIV align=justify></DIV>
<DIV align=justify>“Students, parents united to stop calls from military
recruiters.” </DIV>
<DIV align=justify></DIV>
<DIV align=justify>“AWOL soldier to surrender at Army base.”</DIV>
<DIV align=justify></DIV>
<DIV align=justify>“25 arrested in front of U.N.”</DIV>
<DIV align=justify></DIV>
<DIV align=justify>“One dozen arrested at Sen. Santorum’s office.”</DIV>
<DIV align=justify></DIV>
<DIV align=justify> </DIV>
<DIV align=justify>All of the above are recent headlines which show that North
Americans, citizens of the USA, are getting fed up with bowing their heads to
the criminals du jour who inhabit our White House.</DIV>
<DIV align=justify></DIV>
<DIV align=justify> </DIV>
<DIV align=justify>It has always been our birthright and absolute imperative to
peacefully protest our government and to hold them accountable to represent us
the way that we want to be represented. Through the Clinton years when we
thought we were peaceful and apparently prosperous we were lulled into a
comfortable complacency. After 9/11 we have been bullied into being fearful of
the boogey-man and our now vindicated toiletry items that can rejoin us in
airplane cabins.</DIV>
<DIV align=justify></DIV>
<DIV align=justify> </DIV>
<DIV align=justify>Those of us who spoke out against George and his war were
marginalized and demonized. Phil Donahue was fired for being too outspoken, Mrs.
Joe Wilson was outed, Gen. Eric Shinseki was forced to retire, vile accusations
were leveled against weapons inspectors who dared to say that Saddam had none;
etc., etc. Even if we disagreed with the impending invasion, many of us were
terrified to say anything or be reduced to “focus groups.”</DIV>
<DIV align=justify></DIV>
<DIV align=justify> </DIV>
<DIV align=justify>Now it appears that people are not terrified to stand up for
peace and justice. I am so proud of America for not buying into the bull crap
that if you oppose the illegal occupation of Iraq, then you are exactly like a
“Nazi sympathizer.” (Who wants to be equated with Georgie’s grand pappy,
Prescott Bush). It makes me proud to be an American because we are putting our
bodies on the line for peace. </DIV>
<DIV align=justify></DIV>
<DIV align=justify> </DIV>
<DIV align=justify>It is now the time to stand up and be counted and tell this
out of control government of ours that we are withdrawing our consent to be
governed by them.</DIV>
<DIV align=justify></DIV>
<DIV align=justify> </DIV>
<DIV align=justify>Our dear young people, who made the horrible mistake of
joining our military, are being further abused by their lily-livered civilian
leadership and having their deployments extended when they never should have
been in Iraq in the first place.</DIV>
<DIV align=justify> </DIV>
<DIV align=justify>Our nation’s National Guard are being asked to perform
duties that they never enlisted for and they are also being held hosage
to Halliburton in Iraq. </DIV>
<DIV align=justify> </DIV>
<DIV align=justify>The people of Iraq are being killed for having the
unmitigated gall of having been born and on and living on top of
Exxon’s oil. </DIV>
<DIV align=justify> </DIV>
<DIV align=justify>Now is the time to rise up. Now is the time to lift our heads
and refuse to be bowed by war criminals. Now. </DIV>
<DIV align=justify></DIV>
<DIV align=justify> </DIV>
<DIV align=justify>I have a story to share. When I was in Jordan with the peace
contingent, meeting with Iraqi parliamentarians, we heard the testimony of a
Sheik who is also a respected mullah in Iraq. He told us that members of the US
Army broke into his house, raped his wife, beat him severely, and took him to
prison where he was further tortured in compliance with George‘s barbaric and
cruel policies. All of this happened in front of his teenage son.</DIV>
<DIV align=justify></DIV>
<DIV align=justify> </DIV>
<DIV align=justify>Listening to him describe his injuries and the awful
treatment he received from my country, I apologized to him, weeping. No human
being should treat another human being so inhumanely.</DIV>
<DIV align=justify></DIV>
<DIV align=justify>He listened then he said this: “My son’s dream is to get a
rifle and climb up on to a roof top and assassinate Americans. I will tell him
that there are Americans like you and encourage him not to do this thing.”</DIV>
<DIV align=justify></DIV>
<DIV align=justify> </DIV>
<DIV align=justify>Now, imagine that you are sitting at home with your family.
Maybe you are all watching “<I>Dancing with the Stars</I>.” A foreign invader
breaks in rapes the mom and beats and hauls off the dad. How would your son
feel? How would you feel? Would your family be justified in resisting the
violence and repression? Or would you just bow your head and say: thank God for
the freedom and democracy these fine people are bestowing on me?</DIV>
<DIV align=justify></DIV>
<DIV align=justify> </DIV>
<DIV align=justify>I wonder how much money was spent on the CIA National
Intelligence Estimate that reports that George’s war of terror on Iraq is
causing Islamic Jihadism to arise. Duh. Any person who thinks, knows that
committing atrocities on humans only breeds hatred and animosity, not grateful
feelings of love and support for one’s oppressor.</DIV>
<DIV align=justify></DIV>
<DIV align=justify> </DIV>
<DIV align=justify>We had planes tragically fly into our buildings on 9/11,
killing our loved ones and our sense of safety, but they were not flown into the
buildings by the babies of Iraq and Afghanistan. What’s the difference between
flying planes into buildings and causing innocent deaths to dropping bombs from
planes on buildings and causing innocent deaths? It is time to quit repaying
hate with hate and violence with violence. </DIV>
<DIV align=justify></DIV>
<DIV align=justify> </DIV>
<DIV align=justify>I am so pleased that more people are
lifting up their heads to the repression and violence of our
government. But it will take all of us. It will take a concerted effort by each
and everyone of us to finally end the cycle of never-ending death.</DIV>
<DIV align=justify></DIV>
<DIV align=justify> </DIV>
<DIV align=justify>Please support Rep. Jim McGovern’s <A
href="http://www.pdamerica.org/">HR 4232</A> that calls for immediate de-funding
of the killing in Iraq.</DIV>
<DIV align=justify></DIV>
<DIV align=justify> </DIV>
<DIV align=justify>Come join <A href="http://www.gsfp.org">GSFP</A> and the
Camp Casey Peace Institute in Washington, DC on election day to show BushCo
that we are withdrawing our consent to be governed my torturers and killers.
</DIV>
<DIV align=justify></DIV>
<DIV align=justify> </DIV>
<DIV align=justify>We are fed up. We want our country back.</DIV>
<DIV align=justify></DIV>
<DIV align=justify> </DIV>
<DIV align=justify>Cindy Sheehan is the mother of Spc Casey Sheehan who was KIA
in Iraq on 04/04/04. She is the author of <A
href="http://www.simonsays.com/content/book.cfm?tab=1&pid=520727"><EM>Peace
Mom</EM></A> available now from Atria Books.</DIV>
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