• • • • Granny Peace Brigade • • • •

BEWARE THE MILITARY INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX:  Granny Peace Brigade Planksters take to the streets and run into a corporate buzz-saw.

A special memo to Rachel Maddow, Chris Matthews, Keith Olbermann, & Brian Williams.

While we Grannies are deeply troubled by the loss of journalistic integrity, we still have hopes that this once proud profession can be restored to former glory and we’re always more than happy to lend a helping hand to our friends in the Fourth Estate.  We think you all do try to resist the pulls and pressures of your corporate masters at NBC/MSNBC — specifically those folks from General Electric.  In fact, we had our own confrontation with some representatives from your parent company today and knowing how busy you all are out in Denver, we wanted to fill you in.

This morning at 10AM the Granny Peace Brigade, with assistance from our dear friend, legendary civil rights & civil liberties lawyer, Norman Siegel, and members of the Raging Grannies, Grandmothers Against the War and Veterans Against the War, rallied at the Military Recruitment Center at Times Square to hold a press conference and then walk our ‘peace planks’ to the NYC headquarters of the Democratic National Convention.

It is our intention to keep a program for peace and smart, effective diplomacy on the front political burner and today is one of many actions we will be staging in the weeks leading up to the election.

The Times Square Recruitment Center is the birthplace of the Granny Peace Brigade, so we have a certain proprietary interest in what happens here.  Imagine our delight when we arrived this morning to find a built-in crowd — the place was crawling with youngsters in red polo shirts, passing out promotional materials.  Brightly colored laundry was strung high above Times Square and looming in front of the recruitment center were two huge inflated red cubes that we were informed were meant to replicate a new generation of GE “Profile” appliances — in this case, a clothes washer and dryer.

As we started to assemble on the north portion of the area for our own action, we started to get some fishy looks from some of the ’suits’ in charge of the GE event.

We are not going to dignify the conduct of these corporate representatives with exact quotes.  Suffice to say they were unpleasant and in a couple of instances abusive.  In the eyes of these people, it appears that commerce trumps the right to peaceful assembly.  A little constitutional awareness and sensitivity training might be something GE might want to incorporate into their employee training.  While the NYPD officers at the scene found no reason to curtail our action, the GE reps were thoroughly outraged.  Someone needs to explain the concept of ‘public space’ to these people.  As we marched off with our banners, planks and signs, a few of the reps went out of their way to make our exit less than smooth, and a couple of them engaged in some rather unpleasant verbiage.  Strong opinions and criticism is something we grannies are used to, however it doesn’t often come wrapped in a corporate logo.

But speaking of logos — part of the corporate swag getting passed out today were big red tote bags with the familiar GE monogram and the legend: “fuhgeddaboudit”.  After we finished up at DNC headquarters, we took a look at the stuff in the bottom of the bag.  We found some free samples and a pamphlet describing the new appliances that GE is promoting so heavily.  It seems this handsome laundry room pair has been manufactured to Energy Star standards - certainly a good thing - however, the other distinguishing innovation is that the new GE ‘Profile’ washer can store up to six months worth of laundry detergent.  Now that’s something that should truly enhance the quality of life for generations to come.  And for this convenience, the price tag is a mere $3466!  We grannies would like to remind GE that the very best way to reduce our carbon footprint is to reduce what we buy.  $3466 for a washer/dryer duo?  Like it says on the tote bag, FUHGEDDABOUTIT!

Okay, Rachel, Chris, Keith & Brian — work hard, work true and stop by at one of our actions.

The Granny Peace Brigade is on the move and we’ll let you know when we are in your neighborhood.

- Frans Sears
- photos Eva-Lee Baird

House Congressional Resolution 362 - sponsored by Rep. Ackerman and co-sponsored by NYC Reps. Towns, Fossella, Weiner, Maloney, & Engel - evokes disappointment, fury, and phone calls from constituents.

Let the word go forth: the good people of New York City aren’t one bit happy with the language and intent of this nasty piece of business*. On Thursday, August 7th, several Grannies, CodePink women and members of Brooklyn for Peace set up shop at Brooklyn Borough Hall to sound the alarm and ask constituents to call their representatives and the response was so terrific, we went back for an encore on August 15th. Once again, Brooklyn welcomed us. Calls were made, conversations were started, voters were registered,

and here are a few of the moments we’ll certainly remember:

• On the 15th, our first call is made by that Politically Endangered Species, a man in a suit! As faithful followers of the phone-a-thoners may recollect, this is not our strongest constituent base and we hope this is the start of a trend.
• Two women from Yvette Clark’s district, giddy with excitement when they discovered ‘their girl’ missing from the Wall of Shame. “You just tell her we love her to bits and we’re proud of her,” they tell her office.
• A man shakes his head over Rep.Towns’ support of H. Con. Res.362. “The man came to my church,” he says. “He seemed like such a good man. What’s happening here?” We wonder the same thing.
• A young couple, just married in Borough Hall, pose for their wedding portraits right near our table. We offer them our congratulations, Granny buttons and we register the bride…to vote!

• A young mom from Anthony Weiner’s district drops by. Her small son has autism and it is a full-time job getting him the support he needs. She calls Weiner’s office, tells the staffer she wants to register her distress at the congressman’s support of H. Con. Res. 362, and wants to see him front-burner domestic issues for ‘real people’. The office hangs up on her. Note to Rep. Weiner: you’ve got one very angry constituent on your hands — and she is not about to keep quiet.
• We are told that Rep. Edolphus Towns and members of his staff were covertly checking out our table. If indeed this was the case, we sure are disappointed he didn’t want to engage us in some discussion.

Next Tuesday at 10AM we’ll be rallying at the Times Square Recruitment Center for a press conference and then marching to the Democratic National Committee headquarters here in NYC to present our peace planks for the national platform. Come and join us! And stay tuned — we’ll be coming to a neighborhood near you!

- Fran Sears
- photos, Eva-Lee Baird

*information on House Congressional Resolution #362

On July 31 members of CodePink NYC, the Granny Peace Brigade and the American Friends Service Committee held a tripartite demonstration in Foley Square, NYC. The AFSC brought material on the cost of war. The Granny Peace Brigade brought the Phone-A-Thon kit with flyers about H. Con. Res. 362* - the resolution gearing up for war on Iran. (Does anyone know who wrote H. CON. RES. 362? Not who sponsored it, but who wrote it which might not be the same person.)

CodePink brought shoes. Children’s shoes. My grandchildren’s outgrown shoes are in this “Walk in Their Shoes” display. Although it was a grim donation to make, my daughter gave the shoes with an open heart.

I can’t find my grandson’s shoes in the display but my granddaughter’s stand out. They are pink and very beat up after many trips to the playground, but the sparkles woven into the cloth still shine. There is a paper tag tied to them. On the tag is the name of a three-year-old Iraqi girl who was killed in the war. There is a tag with the name and age of an Iraqi victim on every pair of shoes in the display.

Stepping away from the phone-a-thon table from time to time to look at the “Walk in Their Shoes” display I pointed out my granddaughter’s shoes to passersby. I wondered aloud if the grandmother survived the event that took the child. I don’t have to wonder very much about a surviving grandmother’s agony.

Foley Square is a hurried place, not the best for a phone-a-thon, but the shoes caused busy people to stop in their tracks.

People took the time talk about the issues and some also made calls to their Representatives right then and there.

Tapping into hidden reserves of compassion and inspiring people to act - “Walk in Their Shoes” does that.

- Eva-Lee Baird, text and photos

* On August 1, 2008 261 Representatives were co-sponsoring H. Con. Res. 362 “Expressing the sense of Congress regarding the threat posed to international peace, stability in the Middle East…” Who wrote this dreadful piece of work? The four below have withdrawn.
Rep Davis, Danny K. [IL-7] - 6/3/2008(withdrawn - 7/30/2008)
Rep Cohen, Steve [TN-9] - 6/10/2008(withdrawn - 7/22/2008)
Rep Allen, Thomas H. [ME-1] - 6/11/2008(withdrawn - 7/22/2008)
Rep Clay, Wm. Lacy [MO-1] - 6/17/2008(withdrawn - 7/9/2008)

On Wednesday, July 16, Vinie, Barbara Walker and Joan Wile shlepped 2-1/2 hours to Norwich CT on AMTRAK to do a TV show, “TALK with Ben and Gerry,” which broadcasts throughout eastern Connecticut. Attired in our WE WILL NOT BE SILENT t-shirts, we discoursed, acted and sang for a whole hour, and had ample opportunity to condemn the war in Iraq and any plans to attack Iran.

The show is produced by Bonnie Hong, who invited us after reading about Joan’s book in BUZZFLASH (a popular progressive publication), and who is a fiery progressive herself, fiercely anti-war and anti-Bush, holding all the correct political opinions (to OUR minds) in common with us grannies. She was mayor of Norwich for a term, is a registered nurse, and an all-around dynamo. She was on air with us, along with her husband, Dr. Ben Hong, who is co-host of the program. Ben is a nephrologist (kidneys) with a very successful practice in Norwich, and somehow finds time to do the weekly cable television show we participated in. We admire very much this couple’s courage in doing their vehemently peace-promoting program in the midst of a heavily military population.

Vinie gave a most remarkable reading of a letter from a nurse stationed in Vietnam, “Dear America,” which graphically describes the horrible wounds of war. Vinie’s performance of the powerful letter moved Bonnie Hong to tears, right on the air. We were all extremely moved, in fact.

During the program, on air, we officially inducted Bonnie, a new grandmother, into both the Granny Peace Brigade and Grandmothers Against the War. Vinie did the honors, and presented her with the buttons representing the two groups, which she immediately pinned to her dress for all of eastern Connecticut to see.

We enjoyed the Connecticut scenery — parts of the Atlantic Ocean visible from the train, and a glimpse of the naval station in New London on the way. Our hostess, Bonnie, treated us to a delicious dinner at a waterside restaurant — the kind of place you imagine the elite country club set patronizing on a regular basis, with boats serenely floating by as we leisurely dined in our white lounge chairs. Very John Updike!

And, then the long trip back to New York, time passing quickly in the flow of non-stop conversation among us three young women.

A long day, but one well spent, we believe, as we hammered home to all of eastern Connecticut the granny anti-war message.

- Joan Wile

For 40 years civil liberties attorney and champion advocate for the public, Norman Siegel has observed the Fourth of July by reading the Declaration of Independence and selections from the US Constitution with an emphasis on the Bill of Rights.

Last year for the first time he was joined by members of the Granny Peace Brigade in Strawberry Fields, Central Park to read sections of these documents aloud. We were back again this year joined by Grandmothers Against the War, CodePink and Reverend Billy to honor the good principles in these founding documents: free speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, equal protection under the law, and due process of the law.

Norman Siegel reading the Declaration of Independence
Photo - Richard Leigh

Joan Wile assisted by Jonathan Tasini reading a poem by Yoko Ono
Photo - Richard Leigh

Jenny Heinz reading the Bill of Rights
Photo - Richard Leigh

State Senator Bill Perkins reading the Bill of Rights
Photo - Richard Leigh

Molly Klopot reading the Bill of Rights
Photo - Richard Leigh

Listening to Molly
Photo - Richard Leigh

Laura Newman a member of Reverend Billy’s Church of Stop Shopping Choir belting out the 1st Amendment
Photo - Richard Leigh

Thank you, Norman Siegel
Photo - Richard Leigh

We’ve got a lot of work to do to move this country in a better direction. Hope to see you in the streets.

- Eva-Lee Baird

Nine of us here today. It’s hot in the sun, but the terrible heat of earlier in the week has lifted. We set up a table in the shade of a tree. We’re ready to meet people as they come along, up from the subway or across the square during a lunch break. We have our quarter-sheets to hand out, giving people the facts and the numbers to call.

photo - Caroline Chinlund

Beautifully lettered on his sidewalk billboard Owen has chalked:
4096 U.S. Soldiers Dead.
Call Congress: 800-828-0498
A note of tragedy
A note of hope

This is the week of the vote on the supplemental military funding bill. Our messages: No more $ for war. Diplomacy, not war with Iran. Impeach Bush There’s also our campaign to get the NYC City Council to hold hearings on the use of tax $ to fund JROTC classes in high schools.

Calls to representatives are our focus. We have encounters! We win a few and lose a few.

Caroline’s favorite: Amy, resting in the shade after a job interview. She’s new in town. Lives in Brooklyn. We look up her Congressional Rep in The League of Women Voters of NYC (lwvnyc.org) Directory “They Represent You.” It’s Jerrold Nadler. She calls the Congressional switchboard, asks for Nadler’s office and uses the cue card Caroline wears around her neck to pace her conversation with Nadler’s staffer. Amy’s used to relating to her representatives. She’s moved from Cleveland and Dennis Kucinich was her Congressman! She lived near his office and used to drop in. We agree, he’s our hero. Check out his latest heroic act, of defending the U.S. Constitution, 35 Articles of Impeachment for President Bush,and Vice-President Cheney. (Did you know? He wasn’t covered by any major news media) Read the scoop in Gore Vidal’s article at truthdig.

Here’s Eva-Lee’s review of the day:
I got off to a good start with two phone calls right away and then didn’t get any more. Both callers said “Don’t fund the war” and “Impeach both Bush and Cheney.” They had taken the time to use the League of Women Voters NYC book to look up their representatives. A lot of people walked by with their noses in the air, but there were others who thanked us for being there, even though they didn’t stop and make the call. One man took flyers promising to call later. He walked about 20 yards away, turned and came back with tears in his eyes. “I can’t tell you how much it means to me that you are out here doing this,” he said. “My son is in the navy.” He turned and walked away slowly.

photo - Caroline Chinlund

Barbara W had several intense conversations, and some were painful. Here’s how she sums it up: I believe that it is important to let those we encounter who say our military are killing only “the bad guys” (this was said!) or who see only a stereotyped Iraqi, know that there is, for example, the old head of a family who is scared out of his wits by the soldiers busting into his home in the middle of the night, the school principal who goes into his school to open the door for our soldiers and appears at the door – Middle East hospitality style – with the tray of tea. I sometimes hear myself quoting (to a person who approves of our entry into Iraq) the veteran Mejia who said at the Winter Soldier session earlier this year “We went across the ocean to brutalize a country that had done nothing to us.”

Phyllis reports:
I spoke with a woman from France, and then another, and a woman from Russia, all of them supporting us. Then a young man who was hawking coupons for discount membership at an Equinox exercise place. I asked if we could exchange flyers and he exclaimed, “You ladies are giving out more important things than I am. It’s really good.” He did take our flyer. In talking, I found out that he was not registered to vote, although he had been in the city for more than 6 months. I encouraged him to get registered and vote in the coming elections, and gave him a registration form.

Barbara H:
Maybe people should know about the opposition messages, i.e. “I like the war, we are winning, we’re safer, not many deaths now”, to let people know why we must be out there to speak to those who only get the Rush Limbaugh message.

Well, we’re not quitting. Check the calendar on the Granny Peace Brigade home page for the date and location of our next Phone-a-thon. Join us if you can. No cellphone, no problem.

- Caroline Chinlund with Eva-Lee, Owen, Edith, Barbara H, Phyllis, Fran, Barbara W, Caroline, Kathy

When not that many folks were there for us, you stepped up to the plate — literally and figuratively. You helped us put together our trek to Washington, not only by throwing us a fundraiser, but by telling us “Yes, you can!” — and this was before Senator Obama was even a twinkle in the voters’ collective eye. You and your wonderful colleagues welcomed us into your ‘home’ and we love you all for it. As a true communitarian, you have set the bar high for whomever dares trod in your wake at 69 Gansevoort. Along with our tireless and brilliant attorney, Norman Siegel, and our faithful supporters like State Senator Bill Perkins, New Yorker Extraordinaire, Malachy McCourt, and Congressman Dennis Kucinich, you are definitely in the pantheon of all-time favorite Granny pin-ups — in or out of drag.

Photo - Richard Leigh

To say it was a pleasure to join you on Monday, considering the circumstances, may sound a bit strange. We booked in with heavy hearts, knowing this was the last time we’d be able to bask in the pink glow of your establishment. (And at our age, lighting is EVERYTHING! ) However, once we got there, your enormous good cheer and hospitality enveloped us and we had a blast. Hopefully, the other folks in the restaurant enjoyed our shenanigans — we couldn’t help notice that our performance of WHERE HAVE ALL THE FLOWERS GONE had more than a few of your patrons singing along, but it was Granny Joan Wile’s debut performance of her original song, FAREWELL FLORENT that really brought down the house.

Photo - Richard Leigh

In THE 25th HOUR OF FLORENT MORELLET, David Amsden’s truly swell article in New York Magazine, he reports that you have the opening line of Diana Vreeland’s autobiography, “I loathe nostalgia!” writ large on your calendar. So we will take that as our cue and instead of bidding you a fond but sad farewell, we shall look forward to what you and your remarkable crew will cook up for the next chapter.

Rock on, dear Florent — we sure plan to!

- Fran Sears for The Granny Peace Brigade

Oh, how were we challenged Thursday, June 5 in Brooklyn! The park surrounding Brooklyn Borough Hall and the Court Building was saturated with folks attending Brooklyn Day, a pro-Atlantic Yards rally, sponsored by the Forest City Ratner Corporation, a NYC real estate developer with a taste for using eminent domain for their own gain. A reported 3500 were in attendance with many bussed-in (union members and senior citizens), although the crowd was far more interested in a free lunch than Frank Gehrey’s ‘vision’. (Note to Forest City Ratner Corp: the next time you stage one of these extravaganzas, try to order enough food. Hungry people are cranky people.)

When we finally found each other, we relegated ourselves to a place somewhat away from the crowd, and set up our “information table” at the foot of the statue of another dubious achiever, the ‘great discoverer of our country,” Christopher Columbus. The noise, constant cacophony of many decibels was unnerving and almost unbearable — the unanimous winner for truly ear-shattering rhetoric most certainly had to be awarded to Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz.

In spite of all, we were determined to apprise folks about NYC taxes supporting military curriculum in our high schools. Some people found it “shocking” that, just as school budgets were being cut, tax money was supporting JROTC. One gentleman questioned whether the New York City Council had any power to effect change, was encouraged to ask his council person’s representative, did so, and reported that City Council can effect change. Connie, our colleague from Brooklyn for Peace, brought along material for distribution including “Some Objections to JROTC” from California’s Project on Youth and Non-Military Opportunities, which provided effective “talking points” and was well received.

People often engaged us in lengthy conversation, occasionally preventing us from reaching more people.* A group of teenagers found it to be unbelievable that they could call an elected representative’s office and, even with our encouragement and peer daring, didn’t engage in doing so. A young woman with three children, who works for the New York City Board of Education, took flyers and printed materials saying that she was going to bring them to a teacher’s meeting in her school. She requested additional information to be sent and left her contact information. When a caller to City Councilperson Robert Jackson (Chair, Education Committee) requested a public hearing, she was informed that the office had received 46 calls requesting a public hearing on NYC taxes for JROTC and 6, from students, against a hearing (time frame was not stipulated but we are assuming that it was recent).

Owen and Maxie chalked messages on the sidewalk concerning our Phone-a-thon focus and the number of U.S. troop deaths in Iraq, 4091 to date. A counter-chalker wrote that we were liers however, it did not deter us. The Phone-a-thon was considered by all, worthwhile and a success.

*The Granny Peace Brigade & CodePink NYC need more volunteers to talk with folks who are interested in learning about “what’s going on” concerning U.S. militarism at home and abroad. The tax levy funds for JROTC seems to be a really “hot issue” and we need to spread the word with other peace groups, encouraging a City Council Public Hearing for full disclosure and hopefully, a change in policy. So…

…JOIN US AT THE PHONE-A-THONS!

Phyllis Cunningham & Fran Sears with Caroline, Ann, Joan P., Carol, Maxie (Carol’s grandson), Owen, and Connie (Brooklyn for Peace)

Want to jump-start your next peace action? Invite your local Raging Grannies and draw a crowd! Here the NYC chapter joins the Granny Peace Brigade and Code Pink for a “STOP THE WAR, IMPEACH BUSH” Phone-A-Thon.

If you don’t see the video click here.

WE ARE A GAGGLE OF GRANNIESWords: Esther Farnsworth & the Vermont Raging Grannies, with Corinne Willinger of the NYC Metro Raging Grannies and the Granny Peace Brigade

Tune: “Side by Side”Oh, we are a gaggle of grannies
Urging you off of your fannies;
We’re telling you now
We’re ANGRY and how!
NO MORE WAR!

With all that government spending
To fight a war that’s unending
We’re going for broke,
This isn’t a joke
NO MORE WAR!

(refrain)
The Bush gang keeps on lying,
They want to ’stay the course,’
But boys and girls are dying,
And they show no remorse.

Sooo, we may be a gaggle of grannies,
But we’ve gotten off of our fannies,
We’ll only rejoice for
We sing in one voice for, NO MORE WAR!
We really mean it - NO MORE WAR!
And we mean busines
NO MORE WAR!

“Everyone loves a parade”…onlookers and people near-by were drawn like magnets by the music. Merchants, shoppers, and many folks along the way gave the peace sign, thumbs-up, and thanked us. At times we stopped and sang along with the Raging Grannies - our message on this day in the words of Julia Ward Howe: “Disarm, Disarm! The sword of murder is not the balance of Justice!”

Photo - Bud

Under sunny skies, about two hundred people met at the Merchants Gate at Columbus Circle for this year’s Mother’s Day Peace stroll. Led by Charlie Keil’s mobile horn section with the Raging Grannies bringing up the rear, we stepped off for a festive walk up the West Side of Manhattan, through the Craft Fair outside the Natural History Museum. Along the route, we handed out 1,000 pink flyers about Mother’s Day for Peace with information on the Collateral Repair Project. We stopped several times to read Julia Ward Howe’s Mother’s Day Peace Proclamation, and paused for two minutes of silence for the casualties of the Iraq War and Occupation, before heading across Central Park. We ended with a final reading of the proclamation on the steps of the Metropolitan Museum. We thank all the mothers, grandmothers, daughters, granddaughters, musicians, percussionists, partners, friends and spouses who joined us to make Mother’s Day a meaningful day for peace.

- Phyllis Cunningham & Nancy Kricorian