Boxer staff supportive of Dept. of Peace - Asks for support

The Peace Alliance
Department of Peace Campaign
www.ThePeaceAlliance.org

Action Alert!
Contact Senator Barbara Boxer

Dear friends,

As you know, we are all making efforts to reach our to our Senators and Members of the House of Representatives in support of the Department of Peace legislation. The most recent meeting took place this morning in San Francisco, as several members of our staff and community volunteers met with Senator Barbara Boxer's office. Her staff were both interested and supportive. It was a very positive meeting and a great first step!

We need a sponsor to take a companion bill into the Senate. This is where you come in. Senator Boxer's aides stressed the importance of hearing from citizens regarding how they feel about this legislation.

We are urging you to call, email and fax Senator Boxer (as well as your own senators). Whether you are a resident of California or not, the Senator needs to hear from you. Your voice will make all the difference. We have indicated that there is broad support for this effort, let us demonstrate that. We have two sample letters below (for residents and non-residents).


Write or call Senator Barbara Boxer at:

D.C. Phone: (202) 224-3553
CA Phone: (415) 403-0100
Fax: (415) 956-6701
Email web form: http://boxer.senate.gov


It is important that you keep your letters and comments supportive and encouraging. Please personalize the letter by inserting your own comments.

Sample letter for Residents of California:

Your name
Your address
Your City, State, zip
Your Phone
Your Email - Put "Support a Department of Peace" in the subject line of emails.


Dear Senator Boxer,

Thank you for your courage on behalf of all citizens of the United States.

I am writing to encourage you to help establish a United States Department of Peace. Legislation will be introduced into the House of Representatives on September 13th by Congressman Dennis Kucinich and 53 other co-sponsors. We are seeking a Senator to put forth a companion bill in the Senate and we are hoping you will be our champion.

A Department of Peace would focus on nonmilitary peaceful conflict resolutions, prevent violence and promote justice and democratic principles to expand human rights. I would like to thank you for all the work you do to this end, and in particular for the work you do to help alleviate domestic violence. We feel that the time has come for our nation to organize in a more profound way to address the root causes of domestic violence at all levels; in our homes, in our schools, in our communities, at every level in our society as well as internationally. There are so many programs, projects and organizations that are doing powerful work to address these issues, but are given such little support from our government. This must change.

As a constituent of California, I urge you to sponsor legislation in the Senate to establish a Department of Peace. We cannot wait any longer.

Thank you again for all that you do,

Sincerely,



**************************

Sample letter for Non-Residents of California:

Your name
Your address
Your City, State, zip
Your Phone
Your Email - Put "Support a Department of Peace" in the subject line of emails.


Dear Senator Boxer,

Thank you for your courage on behalf of all citizens of the United States.

I am writing to encourage you to help establish a United States Department of Peace. Legislation will be re-introduced into the House of Representatives on September 13th by Congressman Dennis Kucinich and 53 other co-sponsors. We are seeking a Senator to put forth a companion bill in the Senate and we are hoping you will be our champion.

A Department of Peace would focus on nonmilitary peaceful conflict resolutions, prevent violence and promote justice and democratic principles to expand human rights. I would like to thank you for all the work you do to this end, and in particular for the work you do to help alleviate domestic violence. We feel that the time has come for our nation to organize in a more profound way to address the root causes of violence at all levels; in our homes, in our schools, in our communities, at every level in our society as well as internationally. There are so many programs, projects and organizations that are doing powerful work to address these issues, but are given such little support from our government. This must change.

I am aware I do not live in your state, but I know that you are a courageous Senator who works for the good of our nation as a whole. I urge you to sponsor legislation in the Senate to establish a Department of Peace. We cannot wait any longer.

Thank you again for all that you do.

Sincerely,




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If the Department of State does what it is historically supposed to do, it acts as a 'department of peace'.

Why not fix what's broken rather than starting some new department that will be an automatic laughingstock?

And to whom are you granting the power to make it a laughingstock in your eyes?

NGU.

The state department uses diplomacy to pursue the interests of the U.S. with the un-stated but obvious use of the military as a hammer if things don't go our way. Their job is to pursue the interests of the U.S. peacefully using diplomacy.

What would be the job of a department of peace? Would they have diplomats negotiating with other countries over issues that cause concern? Whom would they negotiate on behalf of? The country whose actions are causing the U.S. concern? Do I really need to spell out the 'laughingstock' thing?

What exactly would this 'department of peace' do? How would it operate? Shouldn't congress contemplate going to war and the costs of doing so in suffering and lost treasure? They obviously didn't last time, but guess what, we need to vote the fuckers OUT, not start some new department.

WE elected the doofuses that got us into another needless, stupid, godforsaken war....the voters of the United States (well, okay, the SCOTUS fucked us on that one). What the hell could some 'department of peace' do in the face of the junta? Why not just vote out the fucking warmongers.

That was my point

Other countries are studying whether to add Dept. of Peace - I believe that discussions of Peace need equal billing with the Dept. of War (State)

The Department of Defense is the Department of "War".

The Department of State manages diplomatic relations. I still don't understand how it would work, in negotiations, in dealing with Congress (which is the body which is SUPPOSED to declare war....or decide to take a course other than pursuing peace)

It seems to me to be an artifical construct without a meaningful way of working. How do you envision a department of peace functioning? Maybe I just don't understand.

And you still didn't answer to whom you'd forfeit the power to turn you into a laughingstock.

NGU.

You should understand the proper role of the State Department!

The State Department's job always has been and will always be to protect the economic interest of the corporacrats,...it never has been nor will it ever be advancing peaceful resolution of conflicts.

A Department of Peace is necessary to advance non-violent conflict resolution. No department exists to advance peace,...NONE.

Didn't you get the memo?

the time I asked why we don't have a Secretary of Peace since we have (have had) a Secretary of War. I think it is an excellent pursuit.

We are a war nation. We pretend that we are exporting democracy. Instead - We lie We kill We steal.

A Department of Peace with a Secretary of Peace would turn people's head around.

The only problem is that the citizens of this country allow the corporations to run the country and war pays. It is just a matter of figuring out whether corporations will continue to win.

Diplomacy and peaceful conflict resolution are (or should be) the mission of the State Department.

There is no need for a redundant agency. Fix what we have now. If you want to rename the State Department the Department of Peace, that would be a more reasonable idea.

The purpose of the State Dept is to tell the world what we want.
The purpose of the Defense Dept is to go out and get it.

The Department of State (perhaps a misleading name, I grant you) is the diplomatic arm of the country. They negotiate through trouble with other countries in lieu of war.

The Deparment of Defense (not the department of war or secretary of war) is the military arm of the government. They are the arm of government that runs military action in the event that diplomacy (see: Secretary of State's office) fails.

It works fine when goddamned idiots aren't running the country. Adding a 'department of peace' to the current fucked up state of affairs would do exactly WHAT?

-Hold peace as an organizing principle in our society;

-Address matters both domestic and international in scope;

-Endeavor to promote justice and democratic principles to expand human rights;

-Strengthen non-military means of peacemaking;

-Work to create peace, prevent violence, divert from armed conflict, use field-tested programs, and develop new structures in non-violent intervention, mediation, peaceful resolution of conflict, and structured mediation of conflict

http://www.state.gov/m/rm/rls/dosstrat/2004/23503.htm

I'll be the first to say that under the misleadership of the junta appointed by the supreme court that the country's institutions have been absolutely perverted into a fascist, belligerent, rogue nation.

However, the mission statement of the department of state appears to follow the Department of Peace thingy very closely. One could say they would be duplicative.

HOW, would a NEW department, duplicating the efforts of an existing department which has been neutered by the junta, have any more success?

I mean, who would Smirk appoint to run the Department of Peace? Genghis Khan?

I still think that with responsible leadership, the system works. The problem is ignorant voters, the absence of any real media, and the corruption of legalized bribery in Washington. Improve those problems, and starting new departments becomes less tempting

idealistic society, the State Dept would have their duties at the Embassies and the UN...and the Dept of the
Sec of Peace would be the negotiators and facilitators. The psychological benefit would be phenomenal.

Currently, however, the State Dept is a tool of war. In viewing the track record of Powell, there is little difference between the Military and State. One is a user, the other is used. So, it is impossible to conceive of the pursuit of peace under this regime.

Naming a Secretary of Peace would be a shame under the Bush controllers.

Promising a Secretary of Peace for any Party that goes up against the right wing would catch the attention of MANY turned off and disenfranchised citizens. They might turn around.

But there are many things involved...as long as corporations make a fortune from war....they will get there people in there. Only the citizens can demand more.

I think it is Brazil, South Africa and another coountry that have joined together in the pursuit of peace exploration.

the Department of Peace. It would fit in with his Orwellian nature.

I have to agree with the other posters. We have already had one massive government reorganization (homeland security), and the infrastructure of the government is bad enough already. How about we concentrate on providing appropriate funding for the agencies we currently have, then talk about a new department and what it might do afterward.

...a decade ago already. It's not a new idea. Maybe before we all rush to condemn it and ridicule it WITHOUT KNOWING A SINGLE THING ABOUT IT, we should READ the frickin' bill first!

Novel idea, huh?

<LOL>

NGU.

The creation of a Dept. of Peace demands that non-violent resolution GETS THE ATTENTION AND SUPPORT IT DESERVES. There is NO existing department which has as its mission the advancement of peaceful means of conflict resolution (and, "NOOOO" -- the Department of State has NEVER advanced peace,...it advances the economic interests of the nation's corporatocracy,...always has, always will).

Once pot is legal, then we can have a Department of Peace. Of course, a Department of Euphoria would follow. And let us not forget the Department of Harmony would be an obvious follow-up. Lastly, the Department of Love would always make for an interesting cabinet appointment.

There'd be a run on pringles and ho-ho's, you can damn sure bet. If they ever do legalize it, I'm investing in Hostess for sure.

but I ask you to read the diary at the following link and then tell me that making the concept of "Peace" as important as other cabinet positions in our government is a bad idea.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/4/20/44133/5250

What is it about Peace that you are running from?

We need to work towards getting leadership that is FOR peace, not make some phony government department named after it.

I understand the notion and the intent, but it's a wee bit too sophmoric for my tastes.

What about a Department of Happiness? You against people being happy?

:crazy:

Maybe we damn well NEED more windmill tilting around here!! Christ, would you rather run around in friggin pink tutus again?? <in my best whiny Lieberman: "We can't do thaaaat... people might lauuuugh at usssss...">

Think about it. It can fire up the base... it'll clearly communicate something we stand for... and who knows? Maybe it'll even pass some day! Hey, without hope, we're... well, we're Republicons...

And in the meantime we ride it for all the symbolic mileage we can get out of it.

NGU.

Amnesty International (www.amnesty.org)

American Voices Abroad (http://americansineurope.org/old)

Center for Nonviolent Communications (http://www.cnvc.org)

Democrats.com (www.democrats.com)

Global Exchange (www.globalexchange.org)

Global Youth Action Network (www.takingitglobal.org)

N.O.W.- National Organization for Women (www.now.org)

Peace Action (www.peace-action.org)

Physicians for Social Responsibility (www.psr.org)

School Mediation Center (www.schoolmediationcenter.org)

Tikkun (www.tikkun.org)

Veterans for Peace (www.veteransforpeace.org)

YES! - Youth for Environmental Sanity (www.yesworld.org)

===


Abercrombie, Neil (D-HI, 1st)
Baldwin , Tammy (D-WI, 2nd)
Brown, Sherrod (D-OH, 13th)
Carson, Julia (D-IN, 7th)
Clay William (D-MO, 1st)
Conyers, John (D-MI, 14th)
Cummings, Elijah (D-MD, 7th)
Davis, Danny (D-IL, 7th)
Davis, Susan (D-CA 53rd)
DeFazio, Peter (D-OR, 4th)
Evans, Lane (D-IL, 17th)
Farr, Sam (D-CA, 17th)
Filner, Bob (D-CA, 51st)
Grijalva , Raul (D-AZ, 7th)
Gutierrez, Luis (D-IL, 4th)
Hinchey, Maurice (D-NY, 22nd)
Holmes Norton, Eleanor (D-DC)
Holt, Rush D. (D- NJ)
Honda, Michael (D-CA, 15th)
Jackson, Jesse (D-IL, 2nd)
Jackson-Lee, Sheila (D-TX, 18th)
Johnson, Eddie Bernice (D-TX, 30th)
Kilpatrick, Carolyn (D-MI 13th)
Kucinich, Dennis (D-OH, 10th)
Lee, Barbara (D-CA, 9th)
Lewis, John (D-GA, 5th)
Maloney, Carolyn (D-NY, 14th)
McCollum, Betty (D-MN-4th)
McDermott, Jim (D-WA, 7th)
McGovern, James (D-MA, 3rd)
Meeks, Gregory (D-NY, 6th)
Miller, George (D-CA, 7th)
Nadler, Jerrold (D-NY, 8th)
Oberstar, James (D-MN, 8th)
Olver, John (D-MA, 1st)
Owens, Major (D-NY, 14th)
Payne, Donald (D-NJ,10th)
Rahall, Nick (D-WV, 3rd)
Rangel, Charles (D-NY,15th)
Ryan, Tim (D-OH, 17th)
Sabo, Martin Olav (D-MN-5th)
Sanders, Bernard (I-VT, At Large)
Sanchez, Linda T. (D-CA-39th)
Schakowsky, Janice (D-IL, 9th)
Scott, Bobby (D-VA, 3rd)
Serrano, Jose (D-NY, 16th)
Solis, Hilda (D-CA, 32nd)
Stark, Fortney (D-CA,13th)
Thompson, Bennie (D- MS 2nd)
Towns, Edolphus (D-NY, 10th)
Tubbs Jones, Stephanie (D-OH, 11th)
Velazquez, Nydia (D-NY,12th)
Waters, Maxine (D-CA,35th)
Watson, Diane (D-CA, 33rd)
Woolsey, Lynn (D-CA,6th)

It's a brilliant vision in sarahlee's list:
"It would  
-Hold peace as an organizing principle in our society;
-Address matters both domestic and international in scope;
-Endeavor to promote justice and democratic principles to expand human rights;
-Strengthen non-military means of peacemaking;
-Work to create peace, prevent violence, divert from armed conflict, use field-tested programs, and develop new structures in non-violent intervention, mediation, peaceful resolution of conflict, and structured mediation of conflict"

And I agree with returning the State Dept. to its proper function (Remember statecraft?). From Jacobin: "I still think that with responsible leadership, the system works. The problem is ignorant voters, the absence of any real media, and the corruption of legalized bribery in Washington. Improve those problems, and starting new departments becomes less tempting."

Higher Class suggests "In a idealistic society, the State Dept would have their duties at the Embassies and the UN...and the Dept of the Sec of Peace would be the negotiators and facilitators. The psychological benefit would be phenomenal."

The State Dept. "duties" include negotiating and facilitating.... We need to restore the intended function of the State Dept. AND the "psychological benefit" (of an inter/national peace movement) "would be phenomenal." !!!!!!!!!

What if this movement becomes a citizens' movement, rather than a government agency, that inspires the people, permeates the national identity and influences public policy, including on The Hill?

There is a tie-in here also with all the various faiths that devote their energies to praying/chanting/working for peace on a personal, as well as, a global scale.

Yer talkin peaceful revolution, folks. :evilgrin:

What if the people say "We ARE the Dept. of Peace?"

War should be a LAST resort but the Bush's and Clark's of the world just give lip service to such a concept while doing the diometric opposite.

to comprehensively counter the mounting violence in our land/world.

Yes, as other big-picture analysts have stated in this thread, it helps to actually read the bill. I've been following it's progress for 5 years and see more caring people jumping on board, once they understand that it is a serious and intelligent route to install peace as a viable concept.

Thanks for putting this Boxer news out there, sarahlee.

NGU.

Appreciate all your efforts, Dragonfly. It seems that there are senators who want to get on board and are just waiting for us to give a little push.

As omega minimo said, "We ARE the Dept. of Peace"

It is just that since we have seen torture and war under both parties, it may help to highlight that Peace in all our endeavors - foreign and domestic, should be the highest priority.

We already have a dept of peace - the state dept

Dear Senator Boxer,

It has come to my attention that a campaign has been mounted to convince to to cosponsor legislation establishing a Department of Peace.

Although, I am not a constituent I am a longtime fan and I was proud to vote for you in 1992 when I was a California resident. I've been pleased to see the higher profile you've had lately.

And I urge you not to squander any precious political capital in support of this well-intentioned, but ultimately futile and unnecessary legislation. The problem is not that we don't have a Department of Peace, it's that we have the wrong people making policy in the Executive branch and the wrong people in control of the Legislative branch.

Thank you for listening and keep up the good work!

you are helping to stimulate dialogue toward co-creating a more vibrant participatory democracy. As such, please allow me to take the completely opposite viewpoint.

The 9/11 Commission Report and other big-picture documents examined just about every angle of that horrific September day. One phrase that kept popping up when exhaustive analyses were reaching summation was this: "we suffered from a failure of imagination."

I like the highly-imaginative yet doable conceptual framework of the Dept. of Peace legislation (also co-signed by over 50 members of the House, BTW) so much because it addresses many priority aspects of how to turn around our violent culture.

While I certainly agree with you that our beloved nation currently has the wrong people making policy and controlling the legislature, my strong sense is that we just don't have the time to wait around for 2008 replacements.

Therefore, I wholeheartedly support Sen. Barbara Boxer taking a deeper role in bringing this vital legislation to the immediate attention of her Senate colleagues, her California constituents and the general American public's focused attention.

<< DOP as "ultimately futile and unnecessary legislation" >>

That you don't see the increasing urgency to dramatically reverse the wildly malfunctioning societal status quo gave me somber pause earlier today, as I was winging my way thru the busy day. Ultimately, it was the catalyst for this note to you via DU, composed hours later. So, thanks for writing.

We could focus attention on elevating its importance in the national dialogue.

bureaucracy of an agonizing "go-slow" framework which is wedded to divisive special interests in big business, etc.......in a nutshell: "no sense of reformative urgency, no passionate imagination." Hmmm......it would be interesting for someone/group with adequate resources to do a comparative analysis of USIP and DOP......

The crux of the issue for me is that this turbulent intersection appears to be prime time for vast implementation of the basic structure of the Department of Peace into every pore of our staggering culture, even before it is passed into law by both the House and the Senate.......yeah...

COLLECTIVE DREAMS + MORTAR AND BRICKS + HIGH COMMUNICATION = GOAL REALIZATION

:yourock:

than advancing US interests around the globe, which is the work of the State Department. The State Department mission posted above is the same old fear rhetoric about PROTECTING America. The DoP legislation is a testament of good will.

It's time to get out of the paranoid head space that the world is full of bad guys out to get us and ruin our "way of life" and start reaching out to the world community in friendship, seeking ways to come together, find common ground, learn once and for all how to live in peace. An entire branch of the government dedicated to nonviolent conflict resolution, exploring the root causes of violence, etc. will signal to the world that we are ready to come together.

The Department of Peace will address violence on all levels of society and provide trained professionals as advisors to the Secretaries of Education, State and Defense.

:shrug:

President Bush will be a memory.

I forgot he's busy helping the Third World over at the World Bank... I guess Richard Perle would be the one...