Iraq Moratorium In Lutz
06/20/2008 5:00 - 6:00 PM
Sunset Lane and N US Hwy 41, SE intersection, Lutz, FL US
Sponsored by
Code Pink and MoveOn are joining the Iraq Moratorium on Friday, June 20 in Lutz. MoveOn will be holding a "Hungry For Change" bake sale. Please feel free to bring along baked goods/desserts for sale, or just grab a bite to eat from the good folks with MoveOn during a break from our rally. MoveOn is planning to sell "African Yellow Cake WMDs". (hint: WMD stands for "Weapons of Mass Delight!", or alternatively, "Weapons of Mass Digestion!")
Please join us on the Third Friday of every month at this busy intersection at "rush hour" Friday, from 5:00 to 6:00 PM. Park in the Winn-Dixie parking lot on the SE corner of the intersection. This is a monthly vigil focused on "Bring the Troops Home" and "End the War in Iraq". We hold signs, wave and give thumbs-up to all the passersby who honk to support ending the war and bringing the troops home. This vigil is a reminder of the catastrophic costs of this war, most importantly the human lives that are irreplaceable. Won't you join us?
PermaLink: http://iraqmoratorium.org/events/listings/5/1265.html
Reports, Updates, Comments
The rush hour Iraq Moratorium rally in Lutz was a tremendous success, with no fewer than six different peace-promoting organizations (including the Moratorium) taking part on a scorching Florida afternoon.
MoveOn.org organized a three table "Hungry For Change - Get Out The Vote - Bake Sale" where they also offered voter registration. They collected donations for goodies like "Niger YellowCake" (lemon-glazed yellow angel food loaves) and even "Obama Mama Tollhouse to the White House" cookies.
Another Mother For Peace held up the famous Vietnam War era poster (provided by my mother): "War is not healthy for children and other living things." 30 years on, our leaders have apparently still not learned their lesson!
The Veterans For Peace contingent was led by retired USAF Maj. Debra Hedding, who controlled combat aircraft over Laos and Cambodia during Vietnam and served as a Public Affairs Officer under Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf during Operation Desert Storm. (She is also a Political Action Coordinator for MoveOn.org's Tampa Council.) My own father, Commander U.S.N. (Ret.) John W. Palm wore his "USS Yorktown CV-5" hat--as communications watch officer aboard the carrier USS Yorktown on December 7, 1941, he relayed the devastating news of Pearl Harbor to the ship's crew.
Code Pink women were among us too, in their signature pink, carrying pink signs and exuding their characteristic energy.
Dedicated members of Florida Peace Action Network came all the way from Brooksville with a huge peace flag, peace cookies and billboard-sized protest signs.
This proved to be a great location to get across the messages of "Bring the Troops Home!" and "End the War in Iraq!" Homeward bound traffic gave us enthusiastic responses and some shade trees provided respite from the afternoon sun. We're looking forward to another rally on the next Third Friday, July 18th (though we'd rather be holding a "Parade of Peace", welcoming the troops home safely to our country and their loving families)!
Sincerely in Peace,
John C. Palm