Little Crosses: say nothing for peace

“Little Crosses” by S. Mondeau sung to the tune “Little Boxes” by Malvina Reynolds (from the HBO series “Weeds” featuring Mary Louise Parker)

Little Crosses in our front yards
Little crosses made of 1 x 4’s
Little crosses painted ghost white
And they just might end a war.

Simple, silent. Recognizable, undeniable. A white cross* in your yard**, like the ones at Arlington West or Camp Casey, would mean so much. Honor the sacrifice of the fallen troops, mourn the innocents lost, help end the suffering sooner. Let every friend, neighbor and passer-by know that you support peace.

UNCOIL (United Napans Concerned Over Iraq Lunacy) members have been inspired by Jeff Heaton of Lafayette, CA and other pioneering peacemakers. With 300 white wooden crosses and volunteers, Mr. Heaton made his friends’ front yard into an honor memorial for peace. It’s visible from Highway 24 just east of the Oakland hills.1

300 crosses is more burden than most can bear, but if each of us could display just one simple white cross in his yard, we could speak volumes without saying a word. We’re planning a to gather for cross-making at my house on 12/2.

You can get it started too, right in your own backyard. Here are tried and tested instructions to produce 5 crosses from 3 pieces of wood 1” x 4’ frugally and with ease. You can offer extra crosses to friends and neighbors who don’t have the talent or tools that you do.

Directions:

#1 piece is 36”+ 18” + 18” + 18”
#2 piece is 36” + 36” + 18”
#3 piece is exactly like #2

Cut a pointed end on the first 3' piece. Then use it as a master pattern to cut the others. It cost $2.00 for each 1 X 4. A paint roller cost $3.00. It took a quarter of a gallon of Z Prime to paint all twelve pieces at once. Z Prime dries in one hour, under optimum conditions. Be sure to get the lower $2 grade DF lumber or the cost will escalate. They make a stunning solitary display against the occupation. Be the first on your block to get one.

Show us yours! Send photos to UNCOIL2005@yahoo.com. We'll post them on the website as soon as our overworked webmaster has it up and running.

Update: The City of Lafayette has ordered the reduction or removal of the sign that accompanied the now 420 crosses. It said, “In Memory of 2867 U.S. Troops killed in Iraq” Apparently, some people found that offensive.2


Optional second part of “Little Crosses”:

And the people shown as crosses
All trusted their President
And they came home in wooden boxes
Covered by Our flag.

* Of course, you could use other religious icons like the Star of David, but they’re harder to make. If you have ideas, we’d love to hear them.

** Apt/Condo dwellers: If wood won’t work, maybe a window cross made of white tape would. Conveniently and appropriately available in your first aid kit.

1. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/11/13/BAGPNMBNA61.DTL&feed=rss.bayarea
2. http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=local&id=4779073 (including video newscast).

Hardliner Calls Out the Chickenhawks

Particlularly interesting is this article appeared in TownHall.com, a decidedly right-wing forum and it filled me with even MORE hope than I got from the election results. It's pretty obvious Charles Colson was thinking of today's NeoCons (Cheney, Bush, Rice, Wolfowitz) when he referred to this observation from AWOL: The Unexcused Absence of America's Upper Classes from Military Service — and How It Hurts Our Country, "...wealthy elites who avoid military service will someday be running America — and their ignorance about what our military endures or is capable of may cause them to misuse our troops..." Colson concludes, "America's most privileged youth should remember something their ancestors well understood: To whom much is given, much is expected — and that applies to serving their country." I couldn't agree more. Celtic Dragon added, "There is something to be said for Robert Heinlein's scenario from his classic book "Starship Troopers", where citizenship could only be earned by military or other federal service. To be part of the body politic, you must show willingness to sacrifice on its' behalf." When BrianR added that one could also serve in, "... an approved equivalent (Peace Corps, reserves for a longer term, picking up freeway trash, whatever)." I thought, you might just have something there.

Maybe more interesting than the article itself, is the author. Charles Wendell "Chuck" Colson 'was Richard Nixon's hard man, the 'evil genius' of an evil administration.'...Known as President Nixon's hatchet man, he is purported to have once bragged, 'I'd walk over my own grandmother to re-elect Richard Nixon.' Colson authored... Nixon's Enemies List." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Colson" I think that makes him Nixon's Karl Rove. After a serving 7-months in prisong for his role in Watergate, he formed an organization to promote prisoner rehabilitation and reform the US prison system. It sounds like a 180 degree turn, but not really. He's still a hardline NeoCon/TheoCon (TheoCon Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theocon)
When folks like he and I agree, anything's possible.

Fun GOTV idea.

Be a walking Get Out The Vote billboard. Make your own vote T-shirt. Step 1: You need: T-shirt transfers from the office supply store, a computer and printer, a good-looking t-shirt, an iron. Step 2: Use WordArt or whatever to Write “vote”, then enlarge it. Step 3: Print. Step 4: Cut out the design and peel the backing off. Step 5: Iron on. Step 6: Look sharp, be cool, feel proud.

Election-Related News/Scandals You May Have Missed Because There Was No Sex Involved

Election-related News:

Republicans Post Nuclear Secrets on the Web. NY Times reports that R's Hoekstra and Roberts w/ signoff from Bush and against advice of intelligence officials and Int'l Atomic Energy Agency, posted "secret nuclear research (from) before the 1991 Persian Gulf war. The documents... constitute a basic guide to building an atom bomb." Why did they do it? Desperate hope that someone would use the documents to show the existence of WMD to justify the Iraq invasion. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/03/world/middleeast/03documents.html?ex=1320210000&en=ba99ceafb0f67900&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss

Also from NYT: Republicans Fire the Man Who Prosecutes War Profiteers. Special Inspector General in Iraq, Republican, “ Stuart W. Bowen Jr. (has) sent American occupation officials to jail on bribery and conspiracy charges, exposed disastrously poor construction work by… Halliburton and Parsons, and discovered that the military did not properly track hundreds of thousands of weapons it shipped to Iraqi security forces… Mr. Bowen’s… reward for repeatedly embarrassing the administration: a pink slip. ”http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/03/world/middleeast/03reconstruct.html?ex=1320210000&en=a10afb5d74a4018d&ei=5089&partner=rssyahoo&emc=rss

Not to miss the latest trend, the NYT Is Also Apologizing. They said Lamont was wrong when he claimed Lieberman said, "Stay the Course: Joe said it at least 5 times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/05/opinion/05pubed.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp

Rolling Stone reports that this 109th Congress Is the Worst Ever. http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/12055360/cover_story_time_to_go_inside_the_worst_congress_ever

And who are the worst of the worst? According to the Stone:

10. Marilyn Musgrave (R-Co) – The Christian Warrior
9. Hal Rogers (R-KY.) – bin Laden’s Best Friend
8. Curt Weldon (R-PA) – The Conspiracy Nut
7. Dick Pombo (R-CA) – Enemy of the Earth
6. Tom Tancredo (R-CO) -- Mr. Bigotry
5. Jerry Lewis (R- CA) – The King of Payoffs
4. William Jefferson (D-LA) – The Bribe Taker
3. Don Young (R- AK) – Mr. Pork
2. James Sensenbrenner, Jr. (R-WI) – The Dictator
1. Dennis Hastert – (R-IL) – The Highway Robber.

Of course Cunningham, Foley, Ney and Delay are disqualified because they resigned. Here’s why everyone made the list. ref="http://">http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/12054520/the_10_worst_congressmen/10

First Live Freeway Blog

The first live blog went reasonably well, although I only met up with one other person. My fault, I think I was too hard to find.
Fortunately, the photographer from the Napa Register found us as we were hanging "TORTURE does nOt work" with my 10-year old son's help. Unfortunately, I don't think they published the photo.

I also met up with one of the local Sherriffs who explained what was and was not allowed on "government" property. You CAN stand near a Highway holding a sign, but not ON the Highway. You can't hang signs on other people's property or THE People's (public) property. If you do, they will take it down and they COULD give you a ticket.

The next Friday, we were positioned on the Trancas Street overpass with 2 blogs:

"Where's Osama?" and "Absolute PoWer Corrupts"

Local police ignored me, but a handsome CHP officer was afraid I was endangering the drivers below. I asserted that I was petitioning my gov't for redress and pointed to the Wine Train's advertisement also over the Freeway. He said they probably had a permit, I said commercial speech still doesn't trump free speech. He said he didn't want to argue. Neither did I. I cut the signs and the American Flag down from the fence which was helping me hold them. He left. I went home on account of darkness.