PEACE EVENT NEAR SEN. SPECTER'S HOME ON DR. KING'S BIRTHDAY, JANUARY 15 -- by Lawrence Geller, 215-455-6876.
Senator Arlen Specter's home will again be the focus of an anti-war event on Sunday, January 15, from 2:00 until 4:00 p.m. on Schoolhouse Lane (between Henry Avenue and Gypsy Lane) in East Falls.
"Yes, we are coming back to Arlen Specter's house and will continue to return monthly until Specter responds positively to the growing anti-war sentiment sweeping across our state and nation," said Chris Robinson, a coordinator of the event and a member of Northwest Greens in Germantown and Mount Airy.
"We know Martin Luther King, whose birthday it is, will be with us in spirit," said Celeste Zappala, of Mt. Airy, who lost a son in Iraq two years ago. She is a member of Military Families Speak Out.
Bernadette Cronin, who was arrested in front of the White House with more than 300 others on September 26, 2005, said, "It's a disgrace what our country is doing to the Iraqis, along with putting our troops in harm's way. You'll notice that those who shout the loudest 'Support Our Troops' (meaning: 'Keep Them There') aren't rushing to enlist, themselves."
Meanwhile, pressure continues to be placed on Specter's downtown office by the Philadelphia Affinity Group to get him to sponsor legislation in the Senate that Pentagon funds in Iraq be allowed only "for the safe and orderly withdrawal of all U.S. troops." Similar legislation (H.R. 4232, "The End the War in Iraq Act of 2005") has been introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. James McGovern.
The Winter Solstice Peace Event took place on Sunday, December 18, near Specter's home, and similar events will continue every third Sunday in succeeding months until further notice. These vigils are sponsored by PRAWN (Philadelphia Regional Anti-War Network), and they have been endorsed by: Brandywine Peace Community, Green Party of Montgomery County, Green Party of Philadelphia, Northwest Greens, Northwest Peace and Justice Movement, Northwest Peace Coalition, Philadelphia War Resisters League, Saint Vincent's Peace & Justice Ministry, and VietNam Vets against the War.
Look forward to the Presidents' Day Peace Event from 2:00 until 4:00
p.m.
on Sunday, March 19, near Senator Specter's home, 4111 Timber Lane in
East
Falls. For further information about these continuing demonstrations,
please
contact
info2506@prawnworks.net