Please join us tomorrow at Rep. Markey's office (xpost from MA forum)

[unhappycamper]

5 High St.
Medford, MA


A press release went out today to media outlets in the greater Boston area:


PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Nate Goldshlag or Caroline Cole FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tel.: [phone] (Goldshlag)
Cell phone: [phone] (Goldshlag) 978–682–8410 (Cole)
Email: [e-mail] (Goldshlag) [e-mail] (Cole)

VETERANS FOR PEACE WILL LEAD OCCUPATION PROJECT IN CONGRESSMAN
ED MARKEY’S OFFICE 5 HIGH ST. MEDFORD SQ. MEDFORD ON TUESDAY FEBRUARY 20 AT 9 AM

Press Conference at 5 High St. Medford Square 11 AM Tuesday February 20

Local members of Veterans For Peace along with members of other area peace organizations will press U.S. Congressman Edward J. Markey to vote against additional funding for the Iraq War by occupying his Medford office beginning tomorrow morning, Tuesday, February 20, at 9 a.m. A press conference will be held tomorrow at 11 a.m. at Rep. Markey’s office, 5 High St.,
Medford.

Specifically the veterans will ask Markey to sign a pledge to vote against President Bush’s $100 billion supplemental budget request now before Congress and to encourage his colleagues to also vote no.

“218 members of Congress can stop the war in Iraq by using the power of the purse and stop funding the war,” said Nate Goldshlag, a U.S. Army veteran from Arlington who is an organizer for Tuesday’s event. “In the Senate the appropriation will fail if 51 Senators vote against it or if 41 Senators filibuster it. There is enough money in the pipeline to safely remove our troops from Iraq once this appropriation is voted down.”

“This will be a multi–day occupation,” Goldshlag said. “If Markey agrees to meet with us and sign the pledge, we will leave.”

Goldshlag stressed the occupation will be peaceful and non–violent. During the event participants will read the names of all the U.S. military casualties in Iraq. The Iraq Occupation Project was initiated February 5 by Voices for Creative Nonviolence and includes occupation events around the country. Other area peace groups who are planning to send representatives to Markey’s office tomorrow include United for Justice with Peace, Malden Area Communities Against War, Code Pink and others.

The Smedley D. Butler Brigade Chapter 9 of Veterans For Peace was established in the mid–1980s and includes more than 100 Veterans From the Boston area who are involved in antiwar activities. The local chapter is part of the national Veterans For Peace and is named in honor of Marine Gen. Smedley D. Butler, the most decorated Marine in U.S. history, who turned against the war and famously said “War is a racket. A few profit, the many pay.”

Rep. Edward J. Markey has represented Massachusetts’ Seventh Congressional District since 1976. The Seventh District includes 19 cities and towns. They are Arlington, Belmont, Everett, Framingham, Lexington, Lincoln, Malden, Medford, Melrose, Natick, Revere, Stoneham,
Waltham, Watertown, Wayland, Weston, Winchester, Winthrop and Woburn.

###

For background information on the Occupation Project see:
http://www.vcnv.org/project/the-occupation-project
Web site of the Smedley D. Butler Brigade of VFP: http://smedleyvfp.org
National web site of Veterans for Peace: http://veteransforpeace.org

END OF PRESS RELEASE

Mr. Markey will meet with us Wednesday eve. at 6PM. His COS is expecting us tomorrow & knows we're going to the mat on this. I'm pumped!