[Peace] AWARE Minutes for 06/11/2006

[Stuart Levy]

AWARE Minutes for June 11, 2006

Karen Medina facilitated,
Stuart Levy took notes.  [Sorry these are so late!]

1. News of the Week?

Carl's elsewhere this week.

Linda and Joe Weber gave a house party (earlier 6/11 afternoon)
for Dr. David Gill, candidate for US Congress, running as a Dem.
against Tim Johnson.  16-17 people attended, asked questions on
everything -- detailed plan for comprehensive health insurance
(HR 676), ethanol, Iraq, education, ...

Dr. Gill's campaign office is near Green & 1st St in Champaign,
just E. of the railroad tracks.

Does he have broad support?  Well, campaign has raised
four times as much money as it did in 2002.  He is hopeful.

Dave attended an NAACP-Education-Committee sponsored
meeting, including showing a film on White Privilege
made by the Mennonite Central Committee, covering
the question of violence in the schools, including use 
of police -- relevant for C-U now.

Annette suggested an Egypt Interest Group.  [sorry I didn't record more
about this -- what's the idea? -SL]

Mort Brussel, back from France, mentioned the Friends of
"Le Monde Diplomatique" (a monthly paper), who sponsor discussion
groups throughout Europe on many subjects.

2. Introductions

Karen asked us, "What's your name and what did you do today?",
nice touch.  About 24 of us were present.

3. New Ideas

Sweet Corn Fest [Fri 8/26 5-11PM, Sat 8/27 11AM-11PM] and
and C-U Days [Fri 8/11 5:30-9PM, Sat 8/12 10AM-5PM].
There'll be signup sheets for both.

Karen points out that different venues bring different crowds --
organic food people at the Farmer's Market, tourists at the
Sweet Corn Fest, ...

Do we want to run both days at both events?  A show-of-hands
for those offering time to staff a booth got nearly all hands up.
Randall argued that AWARE is growing, and proposed we should
go for both days, to general assent.
--

Web Site:  the http://www.anti-war.net/ web site is falling behind,
last updated around 2004.  Karen M. is interested in helping
update it.

The current site, hosted on the IMC server, is a bit awkward to update --
requires some UNIX familiarity.

The IL Coalition for Peace & Justice links to us, and so does the
national impeachment effort.   People will be looking at our page,
so it's important to bring it up to date & keep it current.

Randall noted that it's easy to add a front-page event via
blogger.com, and offered to send instructions and passwords to
anyone who'd like to get involved.  Karen and Stuart volunteered.

Carl E. and Jeff Nicholson-Owens have been thinking about this
already, too.


4. Working Groups
--
Finances

Only raised $25 at Farmer's Market -- closed after 2 hours
due to rain.  Got $28 at last week's AWARE meeting.
Treasury now has $2355.

--
4th of July

Lois: We'll have our own 2-sided billboard on the float:
  "Impeach Bush/Cheney & Bring the Troops Home", and
  "Defend the Constitution Against the White House",
along with our yard signs.
And, somebody broadcasting our freedoms (the theme for the parade),
maybe (?) with tape over mouth?

Durl asks approval of $100, for trailer rental (he spoke with Dan Miner
who asks $40 for it) and for sign lumber.

We can construct and paint the sign in the IMC.  It'll be 8 x 6.5 feet.
Can we do it in time for 6/23-25 Taste of Champaign, and use it as a
backdrop for our table there?  That's not much time...

AWARE protocol calls for 2-week span for approval of money -- raise issue
at one meeting, vote at the next.  Durl&Jan propose to go ahead and
get the sign on speculation, and cover the cost themselves should
the request be turned down next week.  Jan pointed out possible
conflict with this, as she's the treasurer.  Stuart offered to cover too.

--
Billboard

Several met with Adams this week.  They've now said No to us four times
on various billboard proposals.  However they are willing to consider
an advisory-referendum billboard raising impeachment in the form
of a question.  They will work on it and get back to us on a design,
likely this week, so we can decide whether it's acceptable.

Adams doesn't want precise political speech.  They argue that it's
a $2000 savings for us to get the community service rate, and they
apply a "different philosophy" to commun. serv. than to commercial
billboards.

Jan: The [general?] manager wasn't aware of the political situation
in the community, so we "educated him a bit" -- showed him the text
of the advisory referendum.  Some paraphrased quotes from the GM:
"Billboards attract attention, and you'll get attention -- it'll be 
controversial", and, "We'll try to work with you".  Grandpa (Bob W)
replies, "We accept your challenge."

Jan: can we solicit other peace groups for contributions for this billboard?
[Don't think there was a clear answer or suggestions, but nobody
objected.]  

Adams' general manager said he'd gotten a call from someone who'd heard
on WEFT that they were giving AWARE a hard time getting their billboard
up.  He seemed to be disturbed by this.

Anyone know of other billboards like this in other communities?
No specific answers, but someone suggested looking at
   http://www.articlesofimpeachment.net/

--
Taste of Champaign [West Side Park,
   Fri 6/23 5PM-9PM, Sat 6/24 11AM-9PM, Sun 6/25 12-5PM].
Jan&Durl circulated a signup sheet for Taste of C-U.
Most time slots already have at least two people signed up.

--
Main Event, July 1st [2-4PM, Main & Neil monthly antiwar protest]
Jan: Let's pass out flyers inviting people to march with us on July 4th!
Passed around such a flyer.  No objections.

--
AWARE Presents

Kim Abel [Illinois nurse who has worked as a volunteer with psychiatric
patients in Walter Reed Army Hospital] is coming Aug 10th (Thu),
probably speaking 7:00-8:45PM.

This is a few days before the Aug 13th Urbana National Guard
return event.  We hope to show another picture of the war in Iraq.
Urbana Library auditorium is reserved.

Want to engage the press.  Have invited Tim Johnson and David Gill.
Anyone available to help publicize, flyer, contact veterans' groups?

Ms. Abel asks no honorarium, but Jan asks if we can offer her per-diem
to cover travel (~ 100 miles?) and meals.

--
Church Presence

None last week.  Hope to hear more.

--
Anti-racism

Pre-trial hearing for Patrick Thompson is 9:00AM Tuesday 6/13;
some people will be in courtroom to watch the proceedings.
[His trial will likely be in late June.]

Biweekly Court Watch demonstration this Wednesday 6/14, 1:00PM,
outside of courthouse.

--
Counter-recruitment?  No news.

--
Yard Signs ordered -- 250 of them -- should arrive next week!

Should we sell for $3 (at a small loss) or $4 (small profit)?
Most seemed to go with $4, maybe discounting as time goes on.

--
Illinois Coalition for Peace and Justice

http://www.ilcpj.org/ has a link to our http://www.anti-war.net/ site.
Do we in our turn have links to other sites, like ILCPJ, or to AWARE Presents?

--
CROW [Committee for the Reform Of WEFT]

Still forming.  A draft writeup was sent around.
Carl E. is organizer.  More soon.

Linda Evans was elected handily to WEFT board.  So was
Dawn Owens-Nicholson (she's on the Executive Committee).

Mort: any impact of controversy on WEFT's latest fundraising?
Yes, seems so -- $40K is usual goal, typically get over $30K,
this time only about $22K.

--
Working groups.  Join or start one!  It's a lot of fun.


--
Last Week's Events

An interview on Larry King Live: a man whose son had been killed
in Iraq was asked whether he was glad about al-Zarqawi's death.
No, he wasn't.

Heard on NPR, re Zarqawi, that the US had made his name
by singling him out.   [Other outlets, BBC at least, carried
similar stories.]

Bob Wahlfeldt: Naomi Jakobsson's Town Hall Meeting (Urbana, 5PM Wed 6/7)
was a big disappointment.  She presented her own list of accomplishments,
then introduced someone from Dept. of Health to take questions.
She then left, some minutes earlier than announced, having responded to
almost no questions herself.  Randall notes that Bob also wrote a letter
to the News-Gazette (published 6/11) -- good for him!

Karen Johnson visited to speak about the Dept. of Peace initiative,
to a group at the library, to some people at the 6/4 Main Event, and
returned next day to speak to AWARE and to Paul Mueth's 5PM Sunday
WEFT program.

--
Upcoming Events

   Taste of Champaign
   Farmer's Market

Our FM table is really lacking information.  Pamphlets are ~3 years old.
We often have Main Event flyers about issues of interest to us --
impeachment efforts, etc. -- but table doesn't reflect them.

Yes, we should have stuff about the upcoming advisory referenda!  Or re
the state of legislative proposals.  Or the local justice system, e.g.
Patrick Thompson's case.

Karen - Every working group should have a writeup.

Linda - How about, rather than (just?) separate writeups, a single
list of all we're working on, for the Farmer's Market etc. table.
AWARE does a great deal, works on many issues, not all of them anti-war.
Maybe a "What does AWARE do?" blackboard/easel.

--