This is the first monthly newsletter of the Massachusetts Campaign for a U.S. Department of Peace. It comes to you from the office of the Massachusetts state coordinator, Pat Simon, and her team of dedicated volunteers. Our goal with the newsletter is to make you aware of activities that occurring in your state in support of the Department of Peace legislation, in an effort to strengthen the communication in our network and to provide a source of public recognition and encouragement for all the great work being done by all of you. It's exciting to be involved in supporting this historic legislation, and to learn of the good works of your neighbors.

Activities, both past and planned, are summarized for each district below. If you have hosted or attended a meeting, contacted your congressman, gotten petition signatures, are planning a meeting, or have any news about Department of Peace campaign efforts, please let us know so that we can publish it in the next newsletter. Contact Pat Simon at psimon@gis.net or call 781-373-1410.

District 1

Congressman Olver is already a co-sponsor of the Department of Peace bill; however community outreach needs to be done to educate citizens about the bill and the facilities it would create.

District 2

Contact was made with district 2 coordinator, Susan Lantz, who after working for 3 years on this campaign was happy to connect with our network and the statewide campaign. We can give her much needed support in securing an appointment with Congressman Neal.

We also made contact with Laura Tino, who will host an organizing meeting on Wednesday, August 3, 6:30-8:00 P.M. at the Richard Sugden Memorial Library in Spencer, MA. All interested in learning about the Department of Peace are welcome! For information, call Laura at 508-885-6290.

District 3

Congressman Jim McGovern is already a co-sponsor of the bill, but again, community outreach is needed. Judith Torian) can be reached for information about efforts to educate about the bill and the campaign at (judith_torian@needham.k12.ma.us ).

District 4

We're looking for information about any Department of Peace campaign-related activities in district 4. Also, if you know anyone who would like to participate in the campaign in any capacity in district 4, please contact Pat Simon.

District 5

Congressman Marty Meehan outlined his Iraq Exit Strategy Whitepaper in early June in Bedford. Shortly afterward, the bi-partisan Homeward Bound Act was introduced in Congress, which, if passed, would pressure the Bush administration to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq in October, 2006.

From our discussions with the congressman, we feel that Meehan is highly likely to sign on as a co-sponsor the Department of Peace bill this year. Linda Fields and Emily Alston-Follansbee, the district 5 co-coordinators, are working to get a meeting with Meehan in August to deliver petition signatures.

A district 5 organizing meeting was held in early June at which community - and regional-level organizers came forward.

District 6

Katherine Blake-Gendron, a Coordinator in Newbury writes:

"We have over 400 names on petitions for our district...We have had piles of people send in postcards, but have not received any guarantee of co-sponsorship. We have a meeting with John Tierney scheduled for August 25th. John Tierney also recently discussed the DOP bill with Dennis Kucinich to see if any last minute changes would be made. He has some disagreement regarding conflicts with the state department and the department of education. I spoke to the Exchange Club in Newburyport on the Department of Peace. We had 2 letters to the editor printed in the local paper on the DOP. We have met with several representatives of Peace Groups in our community and in our district. We are hoping to have a large geographic area represented at our meeting with John Tierney: WAND, the Dove Campaign, No Place for Hate. North Shore Coalition for Peace and Justice, Merrimack Valley Alliance for Peace...I have had a chance to experience a conference call sponsored by the Peace Alliance with a representative from Non-Violent Communication. It was very helpful especially at this stage when we have done a lot to raise awareness , but have been unable to move Tierney closer to co-sponsorship."

District 7

We have had the very good fortune to have Andrea Loretz-Frey of Everett join the campaign as the district 7 coordinator in June. Andrea immediately contacted the elected officials in Everett to inform them of the Department of Peace bill. They reacted quite favorably. In mid-June, Everett's Mayor Ragucci signed in support of the bill. And the Board of Aldermen asked Andrea to present the legislation to the citizens of the town at the next Board of Aldermen meeting, which occurred on July 25th. A resolution was put before the board, and the aldermen will vote on it on August 22nd.

Andrea also held a district organizing meeting in late June in Arlington.

Lorie Michaels will host an organizing meeting at 12 Canaan Drive in Lincoln on August 6th. Contact her at 781-223-8936 if you would like to attend to learn more about the Department of Peace bill and how you can get involved in promoting it.

District 8

We are searching for a coordinator in this district, which includes Cambridge, Somerville and parts of Boston. We are certain that there are many supporters in district 8, and we need help in getting activities organized there.

District 9

Emily Dahmen (e_dahmen@hotmail.com) can be reached for news of progress in finding support for petitioning for signatures in her area, which is Beacon Hill. She will be happy to hear from others in District 9, which includes a part of Boston, Needham, Dedham, and many towns southwest.

District 10

Diane Turco, reports that her group sent petitions to Congressman Delahunt last fall, visited his office in April, and wrote to him in May, with more petitions. He has just responded that he does not support the bill, as it would just add another bureaucracy. Supporters now intend to work on educating their congressman about the bill and about the changes it will make in our domestic, national, and international domestic policies and in our lives.

Other News

On June 29th Jimmy Tingle hosted a benefit for our campaign at his theater in Davis Square, Somerville. Approximately 60 people were treated to Jimmy's "American Dream" show, which was hilarious, intelligent and heart-warming. Jimmy is an inspiration and we highly recommend his show. He will perform The American Dream again in September. Watch his website www.jtoffbroadway.com for dates.

Our campaign is on the web at www.propeace.net. Propeace.net is a user-created website. All of you are invited to sign in and post your ideas, inform us of events, and comment and discuss any item posted to the site.

The 3rd annual Department of Peace Conference will be held in Washington, DC on September 10th, 11th and 12th. The conference features distinguished speakers such as Walter Cronkite, Marianne Williamson, Dennis Kucinich, Barbara Marx Hubbard, and many others. We hope many of you will attend the conference. If you are planning to attend, please let us know. Contact Pat Simon at psimon@gis.net or call 781-373-1410.

We are planning a Massachusetts Department of Peace conference in November. More details will follow in next month's newsletter. However, we will invite the next Massachusetts congressman to co-sponsor the Department of Peace bill to be the featured speaker at the conference!

And did you know that citizens of other countries are petitioning their governments to create Departments of Peace? This is becoming a global effort to bend history. As such, the first annual People's Summit for Departments of Peace will be held in London on October 18th and 19th featuring delegates from the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Japan.

We leave you with a quote. Many thanks for all you do. We hope to hear from you soon and often!

In Peace,

Pat Simon & Jason White

Each of us has the responsibility and the gift to work within our sphere to construct a world where all may survive and thrive in peace and justice. - Dennis Kucinich