organizing – I Ain't Marching Anymore

Conscientious objection is the thing with feathers.

The one common denominator is hope. Whether one defines hope as an emotion, an action or a muscle, people embark on conscientious objection to create a better future.

50 years ago, exposing a war tlhat was one long crime

It’s more important than ever to remember and acknowledge the veterans who peacefully organized to tell truths only they knew.

How military veterans are answering the call to defend Black lives

The Wall of Vets in Portland. They were active nationwide as Election Defenders too.

From marching in the streets to forming human walls of protection around protesters, veterans are playing a quiet but important role in demanding racial justice.

“Including the corpses, pal.” Notes from this week in soldier-dissent

Flyer for outreach to troops subject to CONUS deployment.

A flyer/ad directed at troops concerned they’ll be deployed against protests in the wake of George Floyd. Of the 3 orgs in the caption, two are my former employers (sorta). Last year, I joined the board of the Center on Conscience And War, feeling the need to help the last org standing after the death ofContinue reading ““Including the corpses, pal.” Notes from this week in soldier-dissent”

The road to revolution via…Julia Davis?

The TV cameras are gone now. So are most of the veterans I was tracking and wrote about for Guernica, upon the request of the Standing Rock elders. Everyone knows that last week’s decision was only a battle won, and that the struggle continues: the drilling below Sioux land isn’t even completely stopped, the companyContinue reading “The road to revolution via…Julia Davis?”

Now at the Philly Inquirer, sine the jujitsu

In 1798, George Logan spent weeks in Paris undertaking that most Quaker of pursuits: listening to French officials and trying to stop naval Kabuki from bursting into all-out war.

Ellsberg on Manning

Manning’s testimony is riveting. So is this from Daniel Ellsberg, whose similarly groundbreaking leak occurred in what now (though it was the Nixon era) feels like a gentler time.

A day for angelic troublemakers

It’s kind of stereotypical, but every year I watch this film as part of the observance of Martin Luther King Day. It feels the least I can do, given what Bayard Rustin did for all of us. This year, of course, I thought also of Rustin during President Obama’s Second Inaugural address, when the PresidentContinue reading “A day for angelic troublemakers”

these might be giants: report from Fort Meade

I went back to Fort Meade this week, more than two years after Manning was first brought to court. Now in dispute during these last pre-trial motions before the court martial, now scheduled for June 3: those two-plus years. If there’s not another delay, that means that Bradley Manning’s court-martial will begin almost exactly threeContinue reading “these might be giants: report from Fort Meade”

Men and MST: getting to the core of it

Another military rape scandal — this one at Lackland Air Force Base. A very few of you might have guessed my first thought: “Ground Hog Day. When will they learn?” I say that because it’s nearly 18 years since a similar scandal at Aberdeen Proving Ground changed my job description and catalyzed the formation of the short-livedContinue reading “Men and MST: getting to the core of it”