Anniversary of the Assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr (April 4, 1968)

Monday, April 4, 2011, at 4:30p.m., ‘A Time to Break the Silence’ – Demonstration Speak Out for Justice, Peace, and The Environment, Independence Mall Visitors Center (lawn area), 6th & Market Sts., Phila., PA

Rain or Shine (dress accordingly, bring an umbrella).

Join us Monday, April 4, outside the Independence Mall Visitors Center, from 4:30p.m. – 6p.m in ‘A Time to the Break Silence’ Demonstration ‘Speak-Out’ for Justice, Peace, and the Environment. Speakers include Celeste Zappala, Gold Star Mother for Peace, music, and the audio broadcast of excerpts of speeches and sermons by Dr. King including excerpts from his ‘Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence’ speech delivered at New York City’s Riverside Church on April 4, 1967, one year to the day before being shot down in Memphis, Tennessee.

In this most prophetic of Dr. King’s speeches, he spoke out dramatically against U.S. policies of war, worldwide militarism, poverty, and social injustice, calling for nonviolent resistance to the “evil triplets of American society: racism, materialism, and militarism”.

(click on link http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkatimetobreaksilence.htm to read and hear the speech in its entirety).

Today, faced by the consequences of a devastating economic meltdown, we must rebuild our society and the world, demanding a new economy not for the greed of Wall Street and corporate elites, not for war-profiteers like Lockheed Martin and Boeing, but for us all and our communities: health care for all, jobs, justice, and peace.

A TIME TO BREAK THE SILENCE…

-End U.S. wars which cost us millions daily; demand Jobs not War$.

-Bring the troops and the war dollars home. End poverty and stop the foreclosures on people’s homes.

-Abolish Nuclear Weapons, once and for all, and the lethal scourge of nuclear power and unconventional gas drilling (Fracking).

-Stop the assaults on our civil liberties.

Celebrate the active legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, as people come together across the nation and proclaim WE ARE ONE in a day devoted to labor rights, justice, peace, and the environment.

For more information: Brandywine Peace Community www.brandywinepeace.com, or call 610-544-1818

This page from the National Priorities Project stresses some important facts.  There is a clear distinction between FICA (Social Security and Medicare) and income tax [though both show up on your pay stub].  Enemies of Social Security like to cloud this difference.   And there’s a difference between debt and deficit.  A quick and valuable read.

http://nationalpriorities.org/publications/2011/taxday-2011/revenues/faq/

Friends – The United States continues DRONE BOMBINGS IN PAKISTAN AND AFGHANISTAN AND YEMEN, AS WELL. We walk with a picture of drone bomber and hand out leaflets to inform people on the street that this is being done in our names and with our money. We oppose the wars and all bombings.

We will do the DEATH WALK on Saturday, April 2, 2011, from 12 – 1:00 p.m., meeting at 12th & Market. Wear BLACK, we will bring plain white masks and we will be sure to have some extra masks but it would be helpful if you rsvp just to be sure. Contact us at Resisters30@gmail.com or reply to e-mail. One person will hold a sign, others will pass out leaflets. They will not wear the mask. We will continue to carry signs opposing U.S. DRONE WARFARE and TERRORISM, which is the killing of civilians.

We are now part of a national campaign against DRONE WARFARE.

We will be walking in the manner of a SILENT DEATH WALK to bring attention to the wars and the victims in Afghanistan , Pakistan . (Possibly expanding ground war there) PLEASE WEAR BLACK OR DRAPE BLACK CLOTH IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A COMPLETE OUTFIT. This is to keep some uniformity. We will also have a drum this time.

Peace, with hope that you will join us and bring friends. Marge VC p.s. It is helpful if you rsvp so we have enough MASKS.

p.s. In case of heavy rain, we will stand under the building at Reading Terminal Market as we did another day.

We don’t often quote the Wall Street Journal, but here’s Market Watch’s Paul B. Farrell spelling out what we can expect if we don’t start properly taxing the rich.  The situation now promotes widespread economic misery and wealth inequality.  We’re told that the one hundred richest families in America have more money than the bottom 40% combined.  Something’s got to give.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/tax-the-super-rich-now-or-face-a-revolution-2011-03-29?pagenumber=1

Danny Schechter, who wrote “Plunder,” tells us what to expect if the projected trainwreck comes to pass.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Showdown-On-A-Shutdown-Go-by-Danny-Schechter-110331-46.html

The Vice President and Washington Managing Editor of Fox News told an audience that he made up the story of Obama’s socialist beliefs during the 2008 election and caused it to be a steady drumbeat on Fox “news” coverage.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20048382-503544.html

This article is about creeping ignorance – the widespread refusal to accept facts and the growing tendency to create one’s own.  For example, a 2010 Gallup poll asked people if they believed in naturalistic evolution.  Only 16% of the whole sample did.  25% of those with post-graduate degrees.  9% of those with high school or less.  2% of those who attend church weekly.  31% of those who seldom or never attend church.  Twice as many Democrats as Republicans believe in evolution.  You can find similarly scary statistics about the percentage of people who believe that global warming is caused by man and about the people who think government should stay out of relations between workers and bosses (this after the hundreth anniversary of the Triangle Fire last week!).  Paste the link to your browser to read the article.

http://www.alternet.org/story/150382/the_biggest_threat_facing_the_country_today_is_fast_creeping_ignorance?page=entire

Since the beginnings of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, some of the most deadly killers and maimers of our troops are roadside bombs – IED’s.  All the hugely expensive weapons in our arsenal – The F-25,  nuclear submarines,  aircraft carriers, etc. – are useless against them.  Five years ago the Pentagon set up a special office under a four-star general to figure out how to combat the threat.  They have spent $19 billion dollars.  How is it going?  The program is a complete failure, and there’s evidence money was spent not just on anti-IED research but on civilian advisors and such.  We’re not suggesting that it’s not important to end the IED threat, but is this the best we can do?   Click the link for details.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/03/27/111029/pentagon-spends-billions-to-fight.html