The Department of Peace
Campaign Connects

On April 13, Matthew Albrecht, Managing Director of The Peace Alliance, Dot Maver, Director of the Peace Alliance and Foundation, and State Coordinators in CA, NY, AZ, MN, and MA exchanged news in a Conference Call. Dot described state coordinators as a kind of advisory committee for two-way support. We learned that Dennis Kucinich and Marianne Williamson, organizer of the lobbying conference in Washington in 2003 and of the one now being planned for September, were to be interviewed on CNN on the next day, April 14. Matthew then walked us through a timeline of events planned by The Peace Alliance to November:

(continued, click "read more" below...)

Mothers Day May 6: House Parties are planned for education, and for fundraising activities for the national campaign, for which The Peace Alliance will provide materials. Attention can be drawn to the original purpose of Mothers Day as a call to Peace, by Julia Ward Howe.

Another activity planned for May is Pie Baking - or buying. Pies are to be taken to offices of U.S. Representatives with copies of the Pie Chart, which shows use of our tax dollars (see pie chart on the Alliance website) to ask that Peace get a piece of the pie! Alert media. There will be a press release on the website. Ask stores to donate pies for this, and to Food Banks and to City Councils - with the Pie Chart, of course.

May/June: Resolutions by cities and towns in support of a Dept of Peace. Detroit has recently adopted one. Dennis and Dot and Marianne will dialogue with Ambassadors and members of the Spiritual Caucus, the Values Caucus, and United Religions Initiative at the UN in NY City. The purpose of the meeting "is to discuss the issues and principles inherent in a Dept. of Peace as it relates to the UN Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-violence for the Children of the World."

In July, Phone calls to congressional Representatives are urged. A phone tree will be developed.

In August there will be media coaching to draw attention to the events to follow for Letters to the Editor, Op-Ed pieces, and news conferences.

September 10-12: The Peace Alliance will hold a conference in Washington D.C. to include lobbying training and events which feature Walter Cronkite and Marianne Williamson. It is hoped that coordinators from all 435 Congressional Districts can be present to visit their Representatives before the reintroduction of the Dept. of Peace bill by Cong. Kucinich, on Sept 13, to "re-frame 9/11". Arrangements have been made at a hotel for discounted rates.

September is Culture of Peace month, and Sept. 21 is International Peace Day.

October 18-19, Dennis, Dot, and Marianne, will meet in a Summit for Peace in the UK, with activists and politicians from various countries. They will discuss international cooperation for a Culture of Peace.

Thank-you Matthew, and thank-you Dot, for pulling us all together for updates! As Dot says, we are a Culture of Peace as we do this work!