FALL PEACE FEST SUNDAY, NOV, 14

11:00 am - 4:30 pm Civic Center Music Hall Hall of Mirrors

Holiday shopping for social justice activists

Oct-N o v 2010
C H E CK O U R W EB SI T E S R E G U L A R LY

www.PeaceHouseOK.org www.PeaceEducationInstitute.org
O kl a h o ma P e a c e S tr a t e g y N ew s is F r e e . C o n tr ib u t io n s to P e a c e Ho u se g r a te f u ll y a c c e p te d . (S e e c o u p o n p a g e 3 /4 ) C o n tr ib u t o r s r e c e iv e ma i lin g s. T a ke a c o p y f o r a f r ie n d .

See details page 16

Interfaith Group Shows Solidarity/Support for Muslim Community

On October 8, leaders and members of various religious traditions in Oklahoma City held a news conference to express support for the Muslim community and to decry the Islamophobia that was reaching a fever pitch (e.g. the Florida pastor planning to burn Korans). See Patrick McGuigans excellent story about the news conference, on page 7, this issue. Pictured here: The Rev. Dr. Kathy McCallie, Church of the Open Arms (event host); a group of some 30 religious and community leaders including State Senator Andrew Rice, the Rev. Dr. Robin Meyers of Mayflower Congregational UCC, and others. Peace House Director Nathaniel Batchelder served as M.C.; Dr. George Cooper represented the Bahai community; Razi Hashmi of CAIR expressed thanks for all the support. See p. 7.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Fall Peace Festival details Vote Hope, Vote Smart Money and Military Force Questioned Yes on State Question 744 The Girl Effect An Oklahoman in Gaza Rape in the Military Oklahoma Soldier Exposes War Crimes p. 16 p. 2 p. 4 p. 5 p. 5 Address Service Requested THE PEACE HOUSE 2912 N. Robinson Oklahoma City, OK 73103
OPS October 2010, Page
Non-profit U.S. Postage Paid Okla. City, OK 73125 Permit No. 1096

p. 6 p. 8 p. 10

Vote Hope. Vote Smart. Vote Early. Vote Often.

by Nathaniel Batchelder
We cannot go backwards. The November 2nd elections vately insured person is benefiting from the reforms elimination of caps on what insurance companies must must propel us forward in building a more just, verdant, pay for catastrophic illness.) and peaceful world. We, the Reasonable Majority, must vote with the energy demonstrated in 2008 so that good The Washington Post reported recently that the stimucandidates win and others are dismissed. lus package is on track and under budget, with few claims Idealists are always disappointed with politics, because of fraud or abuse. Tax relief has blunted the pain of the policies never reflect our hopes and visions. But electoral recession to small businesses and families. Millions of jobs have been protected, or created by the stimulus. Not choices are always clear: one is better, and the other is worse. Defeating the worst makes a space for the better. enough, of course, for us fans of FDR job-creation programs like WPA and CCC back in the 1930s. Nothing is Rupert Murdochs Fox Radio and TV empire reckperfect, but things are not nearly as bad as they could have lessly and relentlessly attacks the current administration been. and Congress, pushing a greedy robber barons agenda: The government take-over of auto manufacturers was more tax cuts benefiting primarily the rich; more budget denounced as socialism and an act of a power-mad adcuts to programs serving the vulnerable; wholesale deministration. But GM and Chrysler are still alive and regulation of environmental protections, banking and fimore than half of that loan has already been repaid. nance. With such extremists in control, America would come to resemble El Salvador, where the wealthy minority Imagine the job losses had they been left to die. Imagine rules, but must be protected from the people by the Army the disappearance of pensions had they been left to die. and police. May we never settle for government of, for, Agreement with the Russians on reductions of nuclear and by the rich. weapons is progress reversing much of that axis of evil talk. And a growing alliance with Russia could support The G.W. Bush administration and Congress started two wars without asking Americans to pay for them. They efforts for balance and peace in the Middle East. Has anyone noticed that there has been no provocative missile borrowed more than $2 trillion to make war seem financially painless, passing on the bills to the future. The eco- launch by North Korea in two years? nomic crash of 2008 resulted from 25 years of deregulaI pray Americas Reasonable Majority will vote in tion of corporate banking, mortgage lending and finance. massive numbers to say NO to the robber barons that Now, conservative zealots blame President Obama and would take us backwards to policies and values celebrated Congress for not fixing in two years the recession and only by the rich and global corporations: excessive conwars they inherited. We cannot give governments reins sumption, disregard for the environment, tax cuts benefitback to such people. ing primarily the wealthy, and deregulation of business, finance, and global corporations. Everyone disliked the big bailouts. But most economists agree that they prevented an economic collapse into We are at the threshold of a whole new world in which depression. And they are being repaid. People angry about conditions rarely credit those who prevented a worse reasonable people and good citizens must advocate for fate. The Reasonable Majority should. All of us wish that policies supporting sufficiency not excess, education and job stimulation had been a higher priority. We must elect possibilities for people everywhere, development of clean energy production, coexisting with Nature and all living to government people at least open to hearing advocacy things on earth. for such policies. Which side will win? Thats up to us to you and me There have been astonishing successes in just two the voters and citizens whose energy, creativity and viyears that deserve heralding: sion must now be felt in every aspect of society: politics, Health care reform an imperfect start must be pro- industry, non-profits and NGOs, arts and sciences, religtected from those who would repeal it (not one Republican ion and houses of worship. The future is ours to build. May we persevere, persist and prevail. voted for it). Opponents say it will cost too much; the Congressional Budget Office says it will save America billions. (Opponents like The Daily Oklahoman have alPeace House Website ready applied for its cost-saving benefits. And every priwww,peacehouseok.org
Page 2, OPS October 2010

Oklahoma Peace Strategy News is produced by The Peace House in Oklahoma City. It has been published since 1983. It is written, compiled, typeset, composed, labeled, and mailed by volunteers. Letters to the Editor and articles submitted for publication are welcome. They must be signed with a phone number and address for the author; however, requests for anonymous publication will be considered. OPS News reserves the right to edit for space and to refuse publication of statements that are libelous or unsubstantiated. Send to: The Peace House 2912 N. Robinson Okla. City, OK 73103 Or to phwebmail@cox.net Phone: 405-524-5577 Peace Education Institute 11404 N. Midwest Blvd. Jones, OK 73049 405-204-6479 www.PeaceEducationInstitute.or

C OMMENTARY

Hundred$ of Million$
Now Polluting Politics
Since the Supreme Courts ruling that money equals free speech and corporations are people, hundreds of millions of dollars have been donated to obscure rightwing political action committees and foundations that are producing and paying for television attack ads which rarely reveal the source of the money. We all remember the ads attacking John Kerrys spotless and stellar Vietnam War service, funded by Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. In fact, there were only a few multi-millionaires and billionaires funding the ads, that suggested Kerrys military record was false. In this election, spending for right-wing candidates supporting the horrible politics of Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck will be 7-10 times more than spending for candidates supporting jobs, justice, health care, environmental sustainability and government of, for, and by the PEOPLE. So, every one of us in the Reasonably Majority must personally touch and speak to five or ten others, expressing the crucial importance that all of us vote. Do what you can to insure that these personal conversations take place coast-to-coast. Everything that progressives hold dear hangs in the balance. HELP GET OUT THE VOTE!

The Peoples Rally One Nation

On Saturday, October 2, rallies around the country aligned with national rallies by the NAACP, calling for Jobs, Justice, Education and Peace. The Oklahoma City rally took place at the State Capitol, convened by the Dungee-Spencer Renewal Committee. John Walters staffed a Peace House table. Attorney Rex Friend spoke powerfully for a peaceful nation and world.

Please Help The Peace House

Oklahoma Citys Peace House depends upon your contributions all sizes to survive. Please use the coupon at right to return a donation supporting peace activism in Oklahoma City. Send us your suggestions, and the names and addresses of friends youd like to receive our newspapers and mailings, which we send free to everyone. The Peace House collaborates with many groups and individuals to bring about public events, peace walks, demonstrations, speakers, editorials, educational events, peace camps and a host of activities relating to human rights, economic justice and environmental sustainability. If you know us, you know its true. The Peace House website www.peacehouseok.org is updated frequently and regularly to share announcements, alerts, photos, and essays about peace as well as events and links to other organizations with whom we are aligned. Thanks to all who help! Thanks to all who will help us now!

Tear and remove

Support The Peace House, OKC

Your contributions to Peace House support our publications, programs, rallies, marches, and ongoing efforts for human rights, economic justice, environmental sustainability, nonviolence, and peace. As we are a political nonprofit, donations to Peace House are not tax-deductible.

Send to: PEACE HOUSE 2912 N. Robinson Oklahoma City, OK 73103

OPS October 2010, Page 3

Money, Military Force Not Always the Answer in International Relations

by Steve Chapman, The Oklahoman, August 8, 2010 It's a shame to let accountants spoil the charming romance of war, but sometimes they insist. Recently the Congressional Research Service reported that our military undertakings in Iraq and Afghanistan have marked an important milestone. Together, they have cost more than a trillion dollars. That doesn't sound like much in the age of TARP, Obamacare and LeBron James, but it is. Adjusted for inflation, we have spent more on Iraq and Afghanistan than on any war in our history except World War II. They have cost more in real dollars than the Korean and Vietnam wars combined. But we can only wish we were getting off so lightly. Neither war is over, and neither is going to be soon. The House just approved $37 billion in extra funding to cover this year, and the administration wants another $159 billion for 2011. That won't be the final request. Worse, the CRS figure is only part of the bill so far. It noted the sum doesn't include the costs of veterans benefits, interest on warrelated debt or assistance to allies. All of those will go on after these wars are over, which someday they may be. Scholars Joseph Stiglitz of Columbia and Linda Bilmes of Harvard published a book in 2008 called The Three Trillion Dollar War, which gives a more realistic estimate. But that, too, is an understatement. They figure that when all long-run costs are factored in, the tab will be at least $5 trillion and could reach $7 trillion, or nearly twice as much as this years entire federal budget. The beauty of the current conflicts, however, end. But that may hinge on how you define responsible and end. All U.S. combat is that we can pretend we don't have to pay for troops are supposed to leave this month, but them. Unlike past wars, when taxes were raised to defray the cost, these have been financed with 50,000 will remain at least through 2011. Their timely departure depends on the Iraqi governthe help of borrowed funds. But eventually the ment achieving a tolerable level of safety and astronomical bill will have to be paid. A nation as wealthy as this one might be able stability. Neither is a sure thing, since July was the deadliest month for civilians in more than to afford to go on taking out loans to squander on martial adventures if that were all we wanted two years and the country still lacks a governour government to do. But if we expect it to pay ment five months after the national elections. We should have learned from these experius a decent Social Security pension, cover our ences that money and military force are not medical expenses in our old age, combat crime enough to redesign the world to suit us. The reand terrorism, build and repair highways and cord also indicates that ambitious interventions bridges, maintain national parks, and all the rest abroad are more likely to erode our security than well, invading and transforming distant nations might just become an unaffordable luxury. enhance it, bankrupting us in the process. Maybe it's time to try a different approach to This looming constraint may be a good thing. It should force us to reassess an approach to for- the world. Last year, the Pew Research Center found that the highest proportion of Americans eign relations and national security that has not ever, 49 percent, agree the United States should been a thunderous success. Afghanistan seemed mind its own business internationally. Where simple and painless at the outset. But our miscould they have gotten that idea? sion has been going on for nearly nine years, and the object of our solicitude remains a poor, violent, corruptionriddled country that gives anarchy a bad name. The Iraq invasion was supposed to be a cakewalk. Today, seven years and 34,000 casuThe spectacle of high-income Americans, the worlds luckialties later, President Obama says he is on the est people, wallowing in self-pity and self-righteousness would be verge of bringing that funny, except for one thing: they may well get their way. Never mind war to a responsible the $700 billion price tag for extending the high-end tax breaks: virtually all Republicans and some Democrats are rushing to the aid of the oppressed affluent. You see, the rich are different from you and Tear and remove me: they have more influence. Its partly a matter of campaign contriSupport The Peace Education Institute butions, but its also a matter of social pressure, since politicians The Peace Education Institute is committed to spend a lot of time hanging out with the wealthy. So when the rich educational and practical opportunities for people face the prospect of paying an extra 3 or 4 percent of their income in taxes, politicians feel their pain feel it much more acutely, its to explore nonviolent living options. We need your clear, than they feel the pain of families who are losing their jobs, support. their houses, and their hopes. And when the tax fight is over, one way Send your contributions to: or another, you can be sure that the people currently defending the The Peace Education Institute incomes of the elite will go back to demanding cuts in Social Secu11404 N. Midwest Blvd. rity and aid to the unemployed. America must make hard choices, Jones, OK 73049 theyll say; we all have to be willing to make sacrifices. But when they say we, they mean you. Sacrifice is for the little people.

SACRIFICE IS FOR THE LITTLE PEOPLE

Contributions to PEI ARE tax-deductible.

Page 4, OPS October 2010

Paul Krugman, New York Times Op-Ed

YES on Question 744 Funding our schools at regional levels

Letter to The Tulsa World:
By Nathaniel Batchelder

Contact Elected Officials:

The White House Washington, DC 20500 202-456-1111 (comments) 202-456-1414 (switchboard) FAX: 202-456-2461 Congressional Switchboard (202) 224-3121 (202) 225-3121 Mail: US Senate US Senate Washington, DC 20510 Mail: (Name of Rep.) US House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515 Senator Tom Coburn (OK) DC Tel: (202) 224-5754 DC Fax: (202) 224-6008 OKC Ofc: (405) 231-4941 Tulsa Ofc: (918) 581-7651 Senator Jim Inhofe (OK) DC Tel: (202) 224-4721 DC Fax: (202) 228-0380 OKC Ofc: (405) 608-4381 Tulsa Ofc: (918) 748-5111 U.S. Representatives (OK) Dist 1: John Sullivan (Tul) DC Tel: (202) 225-2211 DC Fax: (202) 225-9187 Tulsa ofc: (918) 749-0014 Dist 2: Dan Boren (Musk) DC Tel: (202) 225-2701 DC Fax: (202) 225-3038 Muskogee: (918) 687-2533 Dist 3: Frank Lucas (W. OKC) DC Tel: (202) 225-5565 DC Fax: (202) 225-8698 OKC Ofc: (405) 373-1958 Dist 4: Tom Cole (Nrm & S.) DC Tel: (202) 225-6165 DC Fax: (202) 225-3512 Norman Ofc: (405) 3296500 Dist 5: Mary Fallin (OKC) DC Tel: (202) 225-2132 DC Fax: (202) 226-1463 OKC Ofc: (405) 234-9900

Those who love tax cuts have succeeded in eliminating our mental health facilities, drug & alcohol treatment facilities, and adequate funding for public schools. Tax cuts always benefit the wealthy more than wage-earners, and it is time to reverse this dangerous trend. America once had a large middle class, shrunk because of corporations moving overseas, and the concentration of wealth in the hands of an elite minority that has enjoyed tax cuts over the past 25 years. Now it is time to say, Fund our schools! Question 744 simply demands that Oklahoma schools be funded at

a regional average of states around us. It is not against any other funding need. Let's get Oklahoma out of the cellar, currently 49th in the nation in funding our schools. If there is not enough money to fund the public services a healthy society requires, even to support the free enterprise system, then lets see tax increases to cover the bills. We can pay for SQ 744 by ending billions in special interest tax breaks, eliminating millions in wasteful spending and cutting politicians' perks. www.peacehouseok.org

The Girl Effect - The Value of Educating Girls as Effective Foreign Aid
by Keshet Bachan, for RESULTS 1. The impact of a girls education years spent in school - on her surroundings, community, country, her future children, and their health, is phenomenal: Children of women who have completed primary school are 40% less likely to die before age five. A woman with any education is 50% more likely to have her children immunized In developing countries women with seven or more years of schooling have between two and three fewer children than women with fewer than three years of education Some studies have shown that investment in girls education, raised the GDP of the entire country by 0.2% 2. The impact of girls education on a girls life: Women with no education are five times more likely to lack basic information about HIV/AIDS When a girl in the developing world receives seven or more years of education, she marries four years later and has 2.2 fewer children Half of the girls who live in developing countries will be married by their 20th birthday. Increasing girls time in school is one of the best ways to foster later, and chosen, marriage. An extra year of primary school boosts girls eventual wages by 10 to 20 percent. An extra year of secondary school: 15 to 25 percent. Why does girls education have a multiplier effect? Well, girls are future mothers. So the benefits of a girls education will be passed onto her children, thus effectively ending intergenerational poverty. This is a key argument hard to counter.

What school offers girls in particular is resilience. This is an almost indefinable set of skills and knowledge that will in essence allow her to navigate through life and successfully handle whatever challenges come her way be they economic deprivation, earthquakes, floods, ill health or bad dating choices. Every challenge life throws at girls (HIV/AIDS, early marriage, FGC, trafficking) affects girls more than boys. So when we build a community school, giving both girls and boys a chance at education, we are doing more than just preparing them for the job market. We are building a community of healthy, informed, connected, resilient people who will use their inherent agency to make the most of whatever they have been given. And they will know enough of the world to stand up for themselves and demand more. Then the jobs will come. And so will prosperity.
Keshet Bacha is the Project Coordinator of the State of the Worlds Girls, Plan Internationals global flagship report on girls .

The second part of the argument goes to the heart of education as an intervention. What does education offer? If you think back to your days at school you will recall that your time in a class room provided you with more than just basic literacy skills and math. It gave you a chance to meet your peers, unburden your teenage angst on willing ears, share news and ask for advice, gossip, joke, dance, sing, laugh, dream and make promises to be best friends forever.

Contact one or more of them today!

OPS October 2010, Page 5

US to Send Aid Ship to Gaza in an Attempt to Break the Illegal Blockade

Brandon Wade Brandon is a native Oklahoman and recent visitor to Palestine, and has traveled abroad with the International Solidarity Movement Members of Youth Against Settlements protesting in Hebron.

As a continuation of the on-going efforts by the international community to break the illegally-imposed blockade on Gazans, citizens from countries around the world are stepping up efforts to send more humanitarian aid ships to Gaza. The most infamous incident involving these humanitarian efforts is of course the recent attack (May 31) on the Free Gaza Flotilla ship, the Mavi Marmara, in which commandos raided and killed 9 including one American who was shot five times, twice in the head execution-style. This incident, as unfortunate as it was, has brought greater attention to the plight of the Palestinians, in addition to world-wide condemnation of the siege on Gaza. This also brought about changes in Israeli law regarding the importation of resources to the Gaza Strip. But as Amjad Shawa, Gaza Coordinator for Palestinian NGOs points out, "It is not enough to demand some kind of minor reduction of this illegal siege." As a part of the efforts against the blockade, humanitarian-aid groups continue to mobilize resources along with volunteers to fill ships bound for the Gaza Strip. There have been several other international efforts to break the siege, which have been either abandoned or delayed, or, at best, have been towed into port for the cargo to be taken and inspected by Israeli's, then distributed under close supervision. In addition to previous efforts, there is a new flotilla being organized for more than 30 ships, and is being dubbed the 'Mother of All Flotillas'. If all goes well, this flotilla will include ships carrying aid and humanitarian relief workers from around the world, and including Europe, Canada, India, South Africa, and parts of the Middle East, as well as one ship from the U.S to be named The Audacity of Hope after the title of Barack Obama's book. Because our tax dollars and unwavering diplomatic support for Israel are the main components for the continued allowance of the worst violations of human rights in the world today, we U.S. Citizens have a particularly large burden on our shoulders. The only way the US will be able to send a ship to help break the siege is if we can raise $370,000 in the next month or so. If you cannot contribute even a small amount to this vastly worth-while cause, your efforts in getting the word out about the plight of the Palestinians and of the fund-raising efforts for the flotilla are greatly needed. Please visit http://ustogaza.org/ for more details.

A soldier about to use his multi-canister tear gas gun at a peaceful demonstration against land confiscation in Beit Jala.

Brandon Wade (Rt.) with author Mark Braverman, and Former Vice-President of the European Parliament, Luisa Morgantini, at a protest of an illegal home confiscation in the neighborhood of Sheik Jarrah in East Jerusalem.

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Page 6, OPS October 2010

Interfaith Group Denounces Planned Quran Burning

By Patrick B. McGuigan, former Editorial Page Manager, The Daily Oklahoman, current Editor, The City Sentinel Published: 08-Sep-2010 on www.CapitolBeatOK.org On Wednesday, September 8, an interfaith group from various reli- ers goals. Jensen said his congregation believes in respecting and protectgious traditions in Oklahomas capital city held a news conference to call ing the civil, constitutional, and human rights of all people. We support for peace and unity in a time of challenging economic circumstances and freedom of religion and freedom of information. varied observances of the anniversary of terrorist attacks on America. Jensen said that at this Sundays services for United Church, he A specific focus of the press event was to criticize announced plans planned to read a passage from the [Quran] in solidarity with national clergy who believe that information promotes understanding of other culof a Florida minister to burn copies of the Quran, Islams holy book. The gathering was held at Church of the Open Arms on North Pennsylvania in tures and beliefs. Burning books is an archaic response to a fear of the unknown. Jenson also said, Hatred and discrimination are not Christian valOklahoma City. ues. Jesus himself emphasized the importance of welcoming the stranger in Organizers sought to show solidarity and support for the Muslim our midst. community, victims of groundless and outrageous charges and accusaFacilitating the event was Nathaniel Batchelder, Central Oklahoma Human Rights Alliance (COHRA) Board Member, with the help of Rev. Chris Moore, Associate Minister, Mayflower Congregational UCC. We Bruce Prescott, representing a group known as Mainstream Bapstand with our Muslim friends and neighbors against the false accusations tists, began his remarks with an apology to the Muslim community. He said the Florida fundamentalist planning to burn the Quran does not repre- that are dividing Americans, made only for political gain, Batchelder. Fielding questions from reporters, Hashmi said he believes things sent all Evangelicals or all Christians. He encouraged others to read the will get better. Referencing the messages of the day, he said, This is a book, not to burn it. sign of progress, of hope. This is America. Hashmi later said that while State Sen. Andrew Rice, an Oklahoma City Democrat, spoke about the minister in Florida is burning the Quran in mockery, he would his brother's death as a result of the 9/11 attacks on New York Citys Twin rather be praying with friends of the Jewish, Christian and Muslim Towers. While acknowledging the free speech rights of those assailing Isfaiths, for those who died. lam, he said such people should not hide behind the Constitution or the tions. Organizers said they had joined together out of concern over divisive actions tied to the approach of September 11. flag to justify their acts. He said he appreciated Muslims in the city area who are our doctors, attorneys and teachers. Rev. Mark Christian of First Unitarian Church was concerned that each years 9/11 anniversary allows some to rip open the wounds again and again. Dr. George Cooper of the local Bahai community said there was essential agreement in the holy texts of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Dr. Kirt Moelling of Lakeside Methodist Church, lamented the fact that we see so much hatred in America today. Moelling, who also serves as president of the board of church and society for Oklahomas United Methodist Conference, read the conferences statement opposing legal, economic and social discrimination against any faith community or people. Sen. Rice, in dialogue with the gathered journalists, said that good can come from bad, recalling the months after September 11, 2001, when New York City, not known for small town relationships became a gentler and more unified place. Rice said, Im not going to let Al-Quaeda change America. Rice said the United States should avoid tendencies to suppress speech or differences, as happens in Saudi Arabia or Iran. Rev. Kathy McCallie, minister at Church of the Open Arms, welcomed the group at the start of the press conference, and closed the gathering with a prayer of thankfulness for the safe and respectful place to gather.

Organizations cosponsoring the news conference included Central Oklahoma Labor Council, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU-OK), Americans United for the Separation of Church and State (AU), Central Oklahoma Human Rights Alliance (COHRA), Church of the Open Arms A statement from Oklahoma City University President Robert UCC, Cimarron Alliance, First Unitarian Church of Oklahoma City, CounHenry was read by Dr. Robin Meyers, who teaches at OCU and is pastor of cil on American-Islamic Relations, Oklahoma Chapter (CAIR-OK), Mayflower Congregational Church. Henrys comments incorporated quoLeague of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), Mayflower Congretations from Presidents Jimmy Carter, George W. Bush and Barack gational Church UCC, The Peace House, and Respect Diversity FoundaObama. Henry said OCU was proud of our Muslim students, and proud of tion. our country. At the end of the press conference, Hashmi announced an Interfaith Razi Hashmi, representing the local Muslim community, expressed Community Service Day had been scheduled for the anniversary of the terappreciation for the beautiful expressions of justice, peace and solidarity ror attacks, to support the Oklahoma Regional Food Bank, on Saturday at the press conference. He raised concerns about what he termed September 11. increasing Islamaphobia around the United States. From: www.CapitolBeatOK.com Warren Jensen, a Norman minister who did not speak at the event, provided to CapitolBeatOK a prepared statement supporting the organizOPS October 2010, Page 7

The Secret Shame of Rape & Sexual Assault on U.S. Bases

SOFA in which Japan agreed to waive its jurisdiction if the crime was not In March, New York Times op-ed columnist Bob Herbert noted, Rape of national importance to Japan. The U.S. argued strenuously for this and other forms of sexual assault against women is the great shame of the U.S. armed forces, and there is no evidence that this ghastly problem, kept codicil because it feared that otherwise it would face the likelihood of some 350 servicemen per year being sent to Japanese jails for sex crimes. out of sight as much as possible, is diminishing. He continued: Since that time the U.S. has negotiated similar wording in SOFAs with New data released by the Pentagon showed an almost 9 Canada, Ireland, Italy, and Denmark. According to the Handbook of the percent increase in the number of sexual assaults -- 2,923 -Law of Visiting Forces (2001), the Japanese practice has become the norm and a 25 percent increase in such assaults reported by for SOFAs throughout the world, with predictable results. In Japan, of women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan [over the past 3,184 U.S. military personnel who committed crimes between 2001 and year]. Try to imagine how bizarre it is that women in 2008, 83% were not prosecuted. In Iraq, we have just signed a SOFA that American uniforms who are enduring all the stresses rebears a strong resemblance to the first postwar one we had with Japan: lated to serving in a combat zone have to also worry about namely, military personnel and military contractors accused of off-duty defending themselves against rapists wearing the same unicrimes will remain in U.S. custody while Iraqis investigate. This is, of form and lining up in formation right beside them. course, a perfect opportunity to spirit the culprits out of the country before The problem is exacerbated by having our troops garrisoned in overthey can be charged. seas bases located cheek-by-jowl next to civilian populations and often Within the military itself, the journalist Dahr Jamail, author of Beyond preying on them like foreign conquerors. For example, sexual violence the Green Zone: Dispatches from an Unembedded Journalist in Occupied against women and girls by American GIs has been out of control in OkiIraq (Haymarket Books, 2007), speaks of the culture of unpunished sexnawa, Japan's poorest prefecture, ever since it was permanently occupied ual assaults and the shockingly low numbers of courts martial for rapes by our soldiers, Marines, and airmen some 64 years ago. and other forms of sexual attacks. Helen Benedict, author of The Lonely That island was the scene of the largest anti-American demonstrations Soldier: The Private War of Women Servsince the end of World War II after the ing in Iraq (Beacon Press, 2009), quotes 1995 kidnapping, rape, and attempted Try to imagine how bizarre it is that women in this figure in a 2009 Pentagon report on murder of a 12-year-old schoolgirl by military sexual assaults: 90% of the rapes two Marines and a sailor. The problem American uniforms who are enduring all the in the military are never reported at all of rape has been ubiquitous around all stresses related to serving in a combat zone have and, when they are, the consequences for of our bases on every continent and has to also worry about defending themselves against the perpetrator are negligible. probably contributed as much to our It is fair to say that the U.S. military has being loathed abroad as the policies of rapists wearing the same uniform and lining up created a worldwide sexual playground for the Bush administration or our ecoin formation right beside them. its personnel and protected them to a large nomic exploitation of poverty-stricken extent from the consequences of their becountries whose raw materials we havior. As a result a group of female vetercovet. ans in 2006 created the Service Womens Action Network (SWAN). Its The military itself has done next to nothing to protect its own female agenda is to spread the word that no woman should join the military. soldiers or to defend the rights of innocent bystanders forced to live next Bob Herbert concludes that a better solution would be to radically reto our often racially biased and predatory troops. The military's record of duce the size of our standing army, and bring the troops home from counprosecuting rapists is not just lousy, its atrocious, writes Herbert. In tertries where they do not understand their environments and have been ritories occupied by American military forces, the high command and the State Department make strenuous efforts to enact so-called Status of taught to think of the inhabitants as inferior to themselves. Forces Agreements (SOFAs) that will prevent host governments from gaining jurisdiction over our troops who commit crimes overseas. The SOFAs also make it easier for our military to spirit culprits out of a country before they can be apprehended by local authorities. This issue was well illustrated by the case of an Australian teacher, a long-time resident of Japan, who in April 2002 was raped by a sailor from the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk, then based at the big naval base at Yokosuka. She identified her assailant and reported him to both Japanese and U.S. authorities. Instead of his being arrested and effectively prosecuted, the victim herself was harassed and humiliated by the local Japanese police. Meanwhile, the U.S. discharged the suspect from the Navy but allowed him to escape Japanese law by returning him to the U.S., where he lives today. In the course of trying to obtain justice, the Australian teacher discovered that almost fifty years earlier, in October 1953, the Japanese and American governments signed a secret understanding as part of their
Page 8, OPS October 2010

OPERATION RECOVERY: Stop Deployment of Traumatized Troops

VotersForPeace joins with Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) to support Operation Recovery, an effort to stop the deployment of traumatized troops. The U.S. military is spread thin on illegal wars Iraq, Afghanistan and now, Pakistan the deployment of injured soldiers is essential to continuing these wars. It is time to put an end to this practice. And, of course, it is time to bring our troops home from these misguided conflicts. As the US enters the 10th year of the War in Afghanistan, the longest ongoing war in U.S. history, there are many horrors and injustices to remember: the widespread killing and terrorizing of Afghan civilians, the arrest and torture of thousands of Afghans, U.S. support for the corrupt Afghan government, the death of American soldiers, the redeployment of injured soldiers, the incredible waste of resources, and on and on, the list continues. Voters for Peace opposes the current wars of aggression, wants to see the wars ended immediately and all U.S. troops brought home. - Kevin Zeese, Executive Director, VotersForPeace stan are taking prescription antidepressants or sleeping pills to help them cope. By winning our Right to Heal we will be withdrawing this 12 to 17 percent from the fighting force, crippling the military's ability to continue the occupations. On October 7, the 9th anniversary of the Afghanistan invasion, Iraq Veterans Against the War announced a new strategic campaign, Operation Recovery: Stop the Deployment of Traumatized Troops. We recognize that we must stop the deployment of all soldiers in order to end the occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, we see the deployment of soldiers with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Traumatic Brain Injuries, and Military Sexual Trauma as particularly cruel, inhumane, and dangerous. Furthermore, we know that without the repeated use of traumatized soldiers on the battlefield, the occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan could not continue. This is how we will end these wars, by winning our Right to Heal. We are reaching out to loyal supporters. We need you to help us inform others and get them to pledge their support for the campaign. You can sign the petition by Googling Operation Recovery Then click on Help IVAW reach 2000 signatures (signatures are still welcome, after October 7th, when they sought the first 2000.) Reminder to sign the Pledge: Sign the Pledge of Support for Operation Recovery Thank you for your support, the IVAW Campaign Team More information: www.ivaw.org/operation-recovery

IVAW Announcement:
The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are continuing through the use of exhausted troops who have been on multiple tours of duty and suffer deeply from the trauma of war. It is cruel and inhumane to deploy soldiers who are medically unfit for combat. In a 2008 TIME article, America's Medicated Army, Mark Thompson writes, Data contained in the Army's fifth Mental Health Advisory Team report indicated that, according to an anonymous survey of US troops taken last fall, 12% of combat troops in Iraq and 17% of those in Afghani-

What Happened on 9/11?

Explosive Evidence to Be Presented in Oklahoma City
Live presentation by Richard Gage, AIA

Friday, October 29, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. Character Inn Conference Center 520 West Main Street, Oklahoma City, OK 73102

Over 1300 Architects & Engineers Cite Evidence of Controlled Demolition at World Trade Center Towers on 9/11
Ticket Price: $10
Internationally acclaimed 9/11 speaker and architect Richard Gage, AIA, will present the evidence of the destruction of the three World Trade Center high-rises on 9/11 at the Character Inn Conference Center located in Oklahoma City on Friday, October 29 at 7:00 p.m. Mr. Gage will give a live multimedia presentation on behalf of more than 1300 architects and engineers questioning the official story of what happened to these buildings on 9/11/01. After careful examination of the forensic data omitted from the official account, these professionals are calling for a new independent investigation into these catastrophic events.

Sponsored by Citizens for 9/11 Truth.

OPS October 2010, Page 9

Statement on Alleged Whistleblower Bradley Manning

Bradley Manning, originally of Crescent, Oklahoma, is the young sol- should be the focus of the media and the subject of world condemnadier alleged to have given classified material to WikiLeaks, tion. including a 2007 video showing a U.S. helicopter gunship cavalierly mowThe Oklahoma Center for Conscience: centerforconscience.org ing down a dozen Iraqi men, including two Reuters journalists. Manning is also suspected of copying, while an intelligence specialist in Baghdad, the Afghan War documents that WikiLeaks passed on to three media outlets and posted at its own Web site. Manning is currently detained by the U.S. military at Quantico, Virginia and faces a potential sentence of 52 years. The whistleblower behind the Vietnam eras Pentagon Papers, Daniel Ellsberg, has called Mr. Manning a hero and, -- if Manning indeed did what he is charged with doing -- we agree. The American people need to know what is really happening in the wars they are paying for and that their elected representatives refuse to end or even seriously question. This is not about the troops, it is about the military leadership and the past and current administrations policies. As Oklahomans of conscience we stand in solidarity with Bradley Manning. If the allegations are true, we believe he should not be prosecuted. Being a whistleblower regarding an illegal war is a moral act and should not be punished. We are honored that a fellow Oklahoman has shown the courage that Bradley Manning has shown. We believe that without the efforts of people who risk prosecution for exposing the dark side of US occupations, the information we need to hold our government accountable might never be made public. We encourage everyone to read, watch and share the information that has been published and learn for themselves what is being done in their name and with their tax dollars. We believe that it is those who started, perpetuate and manage this war who should be facing trial and time in prison. It is those who have been documented committing and/or condoning war crimes who August 12th march in support of Oklahomas Bradley Manning
National Lawyers Guild - Oklahoma Chapter: nlgok.org Peace House - Oklahoma City peacehouseok.org

More info: bradleymanning.org; couragetoresist.org

TURTLE ROCK FARM RETREAT CENTER A Center for Sustainability, Spirituality, and Healing
www.TurtleRockFarmRetreat.org UPCOMING EVENTS Visit our website for details. October 16: Labyrinth Retreat October 30: Come to the Prairie: A Getaway for Military Women who have been Deployed November 6: Living in the Moment November 10: Top Ten Pain Releasers

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Police Arrest Protesters at Nuclear Plant Construction Site

By Donald Bradley

(Reprint from The Kansas City Star, Monday, Aug. 17, 2010) The J.E. Dunn construction worker in the blue hard hat never had a chance. With arms outstretched, he stood in the protesters path and told them they were trespassing, but he just as well have been a lamppost. The anti-nuclear-weapon activists young, old, all colors, local and from across the country marched past him Monday and onto the excavation site of the new $685 million Honeywell manufacturing plant in south Kansas City that will produce parts for nuclear bombs. Carrying signs with messages such as KC Plant Builds Death and Nuclear Winter, Our Most Promising Solution to Global Warming, the marchers forced huge earthmoving equipment to stop. They planted seeds in the old soybean field and sang. For about an hour. Then the police arrived. Most abided to disperse or be arrested. Fourteen were charged with trespassing and taken to jail.

Those arrested were released without having to post bail after agreeing to appear in court in October. Frank Cordaro, who traveled from a Catholic Worker House in Iowa, showed no remorse. It is a shame for Kansas Citys civic and corporate leaders to allow this death plant, he said after his release. The Honeywell plants 1.5 million-square-foot campus near Missouri 150 and Botts Road will replace the facility on Bannister Road and allow the city to retain 2,100 jobs. A formal groundbreaking is set for Sept. 8. But Monday's protesters, about 100, do not believe that jobs are a good enough reason to build more nuclear bombs. Nothing is worth destroying the planet for, said protest organizer Ann Suellentrop, with the local chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility.

Editor's Note: The only moral position on nuclear weapons is a call for abolition. Only God has the authority to end life on Earth; all humanity has is the power. Humanity should have the wisdom to abolish nuclear weapons and work for social and enviThey made their point and we showed great patience, but then we have ronmental health on earth. Now! to do what we have to do, said Kansas City Police Sgt. Kurt Schmidt. Nathaniel Batchelder

OPS October 2010, Page 11

10 Steps Needed to Start Dismantling America's Gigantic, Destructive Military Empire

The failure to begin to deal with our bloated military establishment will condemn the U.S. to devastating economic consequences.
A Summary of: Dismantling the Empire: America's Last Best Hope by Chalmers Johnson (Metropolitan Books, 2010). Dismantling the American empire would, of course, involve many steps. Here are ten key places to begin: 1. We need to reduce, not increase, the size of our standing army and deal much more effectively with the wounds our soldiers receive and combat stress they undergo. 2. Liquidating the empire will end the burden of carrying our empire of foreign bases and so of the "opportunity costs" that go with them -the things we might otherwise do with our talents and resources, but can't or won't. 3. As we already know (but often forget), imperialism breeds the use of torture. In the 1960s and 1970s we helped overthrow the elected governments in Brazil and Chile and underwrote regimes of torture that prefigured our own treatment of prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan. (See, for instance, A.J. Langguth, Hidden Terrors [Pantheon, 1979], on how the U.S. spread torture methods to Brazil and Uruguay.) Dismantling the empire would potentially mean a real end to the modern American record of using torture abroad. 4. We need to cut the ever-lengthening train of camp followers, dependents, civilian employees of the Department of Defense, and hucksters -- along with their expensive medical facilities, housing requirements, swimming pools, clubs, golf courses, and so forth -- that follow our military enclaves around the world. 5. We need to discredit the myth promoted by the military-industrial complex that our military establishment is valuable to us in terms of jobs, scientific research, and defense. These alleged advantages have long been discredited by serious economic research. Ending empire would make this happen. 6. As a self-respecting democratic nation, we need to stop being the world's largest exporter of arms and munitions and quit educating Third World militaries in the techniques of torture, military coups, and service as proxies for our imperialism. A prime candidate for immediate closure is the so-called School of the Americas, the U.S. Army's infamous military academy at Fort Benning, Georgia, for Latin American military officers. (See Chalmers Johnson, The Sorrows of Empire [Metropolitan Books, 2004], pp. 136-40.) 7. Given the growing constraints on the federal budget, we should abolish the Reserve Officers' Training Corps and other longstanding programs that promote militarism in our schools. 8. We need to restore discipline and accountability in our armed forces by radically scaling back our reliance on civilian contractors, private military companies, and agents working for the military outside the chain of command and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. (See Jeremy Scahill, Blackwater:The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army [Nation Books, 2007]). Ending empire would make this possible. 9. We need to put a halt to the serious environmental damage done by our bases planet-wide. We also need to stop writing SOFAs that exempt us from any responsibility for cleaning up after ourselves. 10. To repeat the main message of this essay, we must give up our inappropriate reliance on military force as the chief means of attempting to achieve foreign policy objectives. Unfortunately, few empires of the past voluntarily gave up their dominions in order to remain independent, self-governing polities. The two most important recent examples are the British and Soviet empires. If we do not learn from their examples, our decline and fall is foreordained. Excerpted from DISMANTLING THE EMPIRE: AMERICAS LAST BEST HOPE, published this month by Metropolitan Books, an imprint of Henry Holt and Company, LLC. Copyright (c) 2010 by Chalmers Johnson. All rights reserved.
Chalmers Johnson is the author of Blowback (2000), The Sorrows of Empire (2004), and Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic (2006), among other works. His newest book, Dismantling the Empire: Americas Last Best Hope (Metropolitan Books), has just been published

Thursday, Oct. 28th at 7:00 p.m Church of the Open Arms UCC 3131 N. Pennsylvania

Missing Headlines: Stories of Life in Palestine

International Solidarity Movement activist Emily Schick
For many Americans, US foreign policy is an abstract concept. Emilys stories, from being shot at a nonviolent demonstration to living on the street with evicted Palestinian families, bring Palestinians and life under occupation into a very real context. In an autumn tour which will reach over twenty US cities, designed for those with little background in the Palestinian struggle. Her presentation relies primarily on basic history and an introduction to the Palestinians who Emily lived and worked with.

Whats missing from the headlines? Come find out!

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Iraq: Requiem for a Profound Misadventure

By Joe Klein Thursday, Aug. 05, 2010 From TIME magazine It is a matter of some relief that Barack Obama did not announce the end of major combat operations in Iraq under a banner that said Mission Accomplished. He did it in a speech to the Disabled American Veterans (DAV), the most grave and sober audience imaginable. And appropriately so, after a war that should never have been fought, a war that by some estimates will cost $3 trillion before it's done (including the health care services rendered to those represented by the DAV), a war whose casualties number in the hundreds of thousands. Iraq hasn't been much in the news over the past year, but this is an important milestone even if our mission there will continue on a much smaller scale for 16 more months a moment for reflection and humility in the face of a national embarrassment. There is no victory in Iraq, nor will there be. There is something resembling stability, for now. There is a semblance of democracy, but that may dissolve over time into a Shiite dictatorship which, if not well run, could yield to the near inevitable military coup. Yes, Saddam is gone and that is a good thing. The Kurds have a greater measure of independence and don't have to live in fear of mass murder, which are good things too. But Iran's position in the region has been strengthened. Its Iraqi allies, especially Muqtada al-Sadrs populist movement, will play a major role perhaps one more central than ours in shaping the future of the country. Our attempt to construct an Iraq more amenable to our interests will end no better than the previous attempts by Western colonial powers. Even if something resembling democracy prevails, the U.S. invasion and occupation will not be remembered fondly by Iraqis. We will own the destruction in perpetuity; if the Iraqis manage to cobble themselves a decent society, they will see it, correctly, as an achievement of their own. There are other consequences of this profound misadventure. The return of the Taliban in Afghanistan is certainly one. If U.S. attention hadn't been diverted from that primary conflict, the story in the Pashtun borderlands might be very different now. The sense of the U.S. as a repository of tempered, honorable actions may never recover from the images of the past decade, especially the photographs from Abu Ghraib prison. A national discussion about America's place in the world, and the military's excessive place in our foreign policy, would also be appropriate in the wake of this disaster, but I'm not holding my breath.

The idea that it was our right and responsibilAs for myself, I deeply regret that once, on ity to rid Iraq of a terrible dictator after the television in the days before the war, I foolishly original casus belli of weapons of mass destruc spontaneously said that going ahead with tion evaporated turned out to be a neocolonialist delusion. The fact that Bush apologists still the invasion might be the right thing to do. I was far more skeptical in print. I never wrote in fatrot out his forward strategy of freedom as an vor of the war and repeatedly raised the probexample of American idealism is a farce. That lems that would accompany it, but mere skeptifeckless exercise in naivet brought us a Hamas cism was an insufficient reaction too. The issue government in Gaza, after a Palestinian election that no one but the Bush Administration wanted. then was as clear as it is now. It demanded a clarity that I failed to summon. The essential It raised the hopes of reformers across the reprinciple is immutable: we should never go to gion, soon dashed when the Bush Administrawar unless we have been attacked or are under tion retreated, realizing that the outcome of dedirect, immediate threat of attack. Never. And mocracy in places like Egypt and Saudi Arabia would be the installation of Islamist parties that never again. might prove more repressive than the dictatorSource: http://www.time.com/time/world/ ships they would replace. Freedom may well be article/0,8599,2008733,00.html God's gift to humanity, as Bush insisted, radiating a simpleminded piety that never reflected another of God's greatest gifts the ability to doubt, to think difficult thoughts and weigh conflictPeace Education Institute ing options with clarity and subtlety. But I'm pretty sure God never designated the U.S. to impose that freedom violently upon others. It is appropriate that Obamas speech to the DAV will not be remembered as vividly as George W. Bush's puerile march across the deck of an aircraft carrier, costumed as a combat aviator against a golden sunset, to announce seven years and tens of thousands of lives prematurely the end of combat operations. Obama's announcement was no celebration. It was a somber acknowledgment that amends will be made to those whose lives were shattered and that their courageous service in an unnecessary cause will be honored.

Full Moon Drumming Dates

October 22: at PEI November 19: at PEI Winter Solstice: December 21

AT: Church of the Open Arms 3131 N Pennsylvania Oklahoma City, OK

Drumming starts at 7:30. A vegetarian potluck at 6:30 for those who would enjoy that.
The Peace Education Institute 11404 N. Midwest Blvd, Jones, OK www.PeaceEducationInstitute.org
OPS October 2010, Page 13

Carrie Dickerson Foundation EVENT (Tulsa) November 9th

The Impact of Nuclear Power on Health and Environment

founded Little Patuxent River Watershed AsIllegality of Radiological Weapons: Poisons of sociation. Cathy is a writer for international War in November 2008 and has conducted nunews and opinion site, www.axisoflogic.com merous workshops and presentations on nuclear since October, 2006 and workshop leader of the power, radiological weapons issues, and conseInternational War Crimes panel for World Prout quences of military pollution from 2005 to Assembly National Conference, May 2008. She 2010. For more information, contact: Marilyn Nuclear power won Honorable Mention Award in Washington McCulloch, outpostomega@sbcglobal.net is often heralded Peace Center's 4th Annual Activist Awards Gala, December 2008. At the Washington Peace as the solution www.carriedickersonfoundation.com Center she served on a panel on International for supplying America's energy production needs. Is nuclear power really all A retired Air Force Lt. Col. pilot in Vietnam, and later di- American politics and to enerthat benign? deeply concerned about Amer- rected all the Defense Depart- gizing citizen action in defense And is energy icas foreign wars and political ment "Star Wars" programs of our democracy and Constituproduced at nudirections returned to Oklaunder presidents Ford and tion. clear power homa in September to speak in Carter. He has been an execuplants really a Norman and in Oklahoma tive in both government and More information about Dr. clean source City. Robert M. Bowman, industry, and has chaired 8 ma- Bowman is available on his of energy for PhD., is on a national speaking jor international conferwebsite www.ThePatriots.us or Oklahoma and tour, appealing to liberals and ences. Dr. Bowman is one of by contacting The Peace House other states? We will take a look at the pollution conservatives, cautioning the countrys foremost authori- in Oklahoma City at 405-524created by current and proposed nuclear reactors Americans about the huge im- ties on national security issues. 5577. and the resulting impacts on human health, our pact that corporate money and environment, and our local food and water supply. influence have on US policy, Nathaniel Batchelder, diWe will discuss ionizing radiation and the havoc it foreign and domestic. rector of Oklahoma Citys wreaks within the plant and animal kingdoms. Bowman makes the case that Peace House, said, Dr. Various areas of the country will be discussed as Americas current wars in the Bowman gave up lucrative illustrative case studies. Middle East are misguided ef- jobs in the defense industry forts serving primarily corpo- to become an outspoken adAbout the Speaker: rate interests, and that Amervocate of rational U.S. deCathy Garger is a writer, speaker and activist icas resources should be spent fense policies, and for poliwho works to protect human health and environat home on infrastructure pri- cies serving human rights, ment. In 2009 she founded the 501(c)3 organizaorities that serve our economy social justice, and a healthy tion People Against A Radioactive Chesapeake and create jobs. democracy in the U.S. He and in 2007 was a founding Charter member of Colonel Bowman flew 101 has dedicated his life to Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Chesapeake Safe Energy Coalition. In 2002 she combat missions as a fighter studying and speaking about Robert M. Bowman, PhD

Tuesday, Nov. 9th 6:00-7:45 pm Kendall-Whittier Library 21 South Lewis, Tulsa, OK

Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Speaks for Peace and Democracy

Page 14, OPS October 2010

12 Reasons to Abolish the Death Penalty

The death penalty is hopelessly flawed. It is not fairly administered. Innocent people do get convicted and sent to death row. Prosecutors often bend truth in trials and people are sentenced to death because of inadequate or inexperienced legal representation. WE CALL FOR ABOLITION OF THE DEATH PENALTY. WE MUST END STATE-SPONSORED KILLING.
1. The death penalty is not a deterrent to murder or violent crime. Indeed, murder rates are actually higher in those U.S. states, and countries, that still use the death penalty. 2. The death penalty costs more than life imprisonment. A death penalty trial, appeals, incarceration, and execution typically costs taxpayers from $2 to $5 million. A trial and life in prison figuring an average of 40 years may cost between $1 and $2 million. 3. Innocent people do get convicted, and some have been executed. In the US, at least 416 persons have mistakenly been convicted of potentially capital crimes. Of those, 139 were sentenced to death, and 23 were actually executed. Researchers say that there may be many more wrongful executions not yet identified. 4. The death penalty is a political football. As a symbol of "being tough on crime," the death penalty helps politicians get elected. Since it does not reduce violent crime, it wastes money that could be spent making society safer. States that have abolished the death penalty can redirect the money saved into programs that actually reduce violent crime. 5. Racism #1: The death penalty punishes primarily those who kill whites. Defendants whose victims were white are four to ten times more likely to have received a death sentence than those whose victims were not white. 6. Racism #2: Minority defendants are more likely than white defendants to be sentenced to death for the same crimes. Research into sentencing patterns shows that blacks are three to four times as likely to be sentenced to death as whites charged in similar cases. 7. Poor people get executed much more often than wealthier murderers. Over 99% of the people on death row are indigent, according to one U.S. Appeals Court judge. Persons of all income levels commit murder, but poor people are the primary recipients of the death penalty. 8. Juvenile offenders are executed. Since 1972, at least 160 juveniles received a death sentence for crimes committed before they were 18 years old. 9. The law forbids the execution of those who are mentally ill, but mentally ill people still get executed. The determination of sanity is generally made after very limited contact with the accused, often by psychiatrists employed by the prosecution. Inevitably, some mentally ill defendants are declared "sane," and fit for execution. 10. Inconsistent sentencing makes the death penalty a lottery. Only one out of 100 people convicted of murder is sentenced to death. Those sentenced to death are not necessarily those whose crimes are the worst - rather, they tend to be the poor, people of color, and those whose victims are white. 11. Support for the death penalty is decreasing. When offered a range of sentencing options, respondents in several surveys have shown a growing preference for life imprisonment rather than execution. 12. Murder victims' families often oppose the death penalty. Oklahomans include Johnnie Carter, whose 7 y/o granddaughter Katherine Busch was murdered in Yukon in 1990; Bud Welch, whose daughter Julie died in the Murrah Building bombing; and Andrew Rice whose brother David died in the WTC on 9/11. Coretta Scott King, widow of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., opposed capital punishment, as did Dr. King, whose mother was a murder victim. Kerry Kennedy, daughter of Robert F. Kennedy, and many other family members of murder victims publicly oppose the death penalty. One victim's father said, "It won't bring back my son - why make two families suffer the death of a family member?" Murder victims families are finding the closure promised by death penalty advocates to be a myth.

Oklahoma Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty www.okcadp.org

OPS October 2010, Page 15

2010 Peace Festival

Sunday, Nov. 14th, 11am-4:30pm
Civic Center Hall of Mirrors

Fall Peace Festival Brings Music, Shared Community, and Alternative Shopping Opportunities HOLIDAY SHOPPING OPPORTUNITIES
Booths & Tables 60 Social Justice, Environmental, Human Rights and Peace organizations.

Live Entertainment from Peace Fest Stage Food Items & Refreshments at Many Tables

Visit/Join/Support Social Justice Groups

Admission Free

Sponsored by The Peace House & Peace Education Institute

Cosponsors include Social Justice Committee First Unitarian Church, Mayflower Congregational Church, Council on American-Islamic Relations

Church of the Open Arms, UCC - United Church of Christ

3131 N. Pennsylvania, OKC Sunday: Community Caf from 9:45 am Worship Celebration - 10:45 am
We believe God is all-loving and inclusive, We welcome and accept everyone as they are,
Page 16, OPS October 2010

Your mind will be nourished; and your soul, We are growing together, toward a more just, verdant, and peaceful world.