[Peace-discuss] Letter to Editor, News-Gazette

[jamie storm]

>From: "jamie storm" <gary_jamie at hotmail.com>
>To: letters at news-gazette.com
>CC: lynnecbarnes at hotmail.com
>Subject: thank you Urbana city council
>Date: Tue, 21 Mar 2006 12:22:06 -0600
>
>Thank You, Urbana City Council!
>
>Thanks to Urbana City Council members Charlie Smyth, Dennis Roberts, 
>Danielle Chynoweth, Robert Lewis, and Brandon Bowersox for their votes to 
>end the U.S. military occupation in Iraq. They all recognized that, of 
>course, this is a local issue…and a state issue, and a national issue, and 
>an international issue. In today’s interconnected world, political action 
>(or inaction) at each of these levels affects all the rest.  The decision 
>made in Washington to invade and occupy Iraq is a clear case in point.  
>More than $30 million has already been diverted from government programs in 
>Urbana to pay for the war, and we will lose another $9 million this year if 
>present policies continue. All citizens of Urbana are victims when funding 
>for community development, health, education and housing programs are cut.  
>All Urbana community members suffer when members of our families or our 
>neighbor’s families are victims of the violence in Iraq.
>
>When harm is done to our community and little is being done to address this 
>harm in Washington, each of us as private citizens has the obligation to 
>speak out to those who can affect change.  But our collective voice is 
>stronger and carries farther than our solo voices. For this reason it is 
>the duty of our City Council members, first, to listen to citizens who made 
>the effort to express their views, second, to evaluate these views and the 
>evidence and arguments used to support them, third, to determine, to the 
>best of their abilities, what is in the best interest of their constituents 
>and citizens of Urbana as a whole, and finally, to send a clear, 
>well-reasoned, knowledge-based policy recommendation to our U.S. 
>Congressional representatives. That recommendation is to “Bring our troops 
>home, now!”
>
>Gary & Jamie Storm
>304 E. George Huff Dr, Ward 7
>Urbana
>367-0879
>
>