“Cut The Crap, Cut the Funding” organizing meeting

An Open Letter to Anti-War Peace Activists:

Recent polls show Americans are, more than ever, fed up with the War in
Iraq. In a poll taken by the Associated Press on May 7th of this year,
64% of respondents disapproved of Bush’s handling of the war. In a
CNN
poll taken on May 4th, 65% of respondents said they “Opposed the US
war in
Iraq.”

After years of complacency, Congressional Democrats are finally
beginning
to stand up to Bush and have put legislation forward to halt Bush’s
unlimited powers to continue the blood bath in Iraq. We certainly
applaud
these efforts, but we also feel we deserve more. We feel the funds
used
to wage war on innocent people need to be put to better use. We feel
the
funds for this war should be cut and spent on veterans benefits, aid to
Iraqi’s to help rebuild their country, and other pressing domestic
needs
inside the US.

These are exciting times and popular consciousness is moving in our
direction. There has been no better time than now to reach out to the
American public that has come around to what some of us have been
saying
for a long time: It was wrong to go in, and its time to Bring our
Troops
Home.

Many groups have formed to fight against this war and a multitude of
similar issues. In many ways, such as the recently founded Antiwar
Storefront, Rochester leads the country in the sheer level and
diversity
of activity. However, it is also imperative that these groups continue
to
coordinate and work together in common cause.

This letter is an appeal to anyone who shares these sentiments and
wants
to help organize a month of activities to both make clear our message
to
congress and to draw in larger numbers of people who are fed up and
want
to act. Specifically, we are calling for an organizing coalition to
plan
a demonstration on July 3rd, that calls for:

“Cut The Crap, Cut the Funding”

The exact character, size, location, and message should be decided upon
by
the participants and organizations involved. We are calling for a
planning meeting:

Monday, June 11th, 7:00pm (free pizza at 6:30pm) at the Antiwar
Storefront

Below are more details for the planning meeting. We urge you and your
organization to consider participating and send one or more
representatives to the planning meeting. We have an opportunity to
make
significant gains and present a unified message to the Rochester
community
and the country. We hope you will join us.

Sincerely,
Brian Lenzo and Doug Noble
Rochester Against War

==========

Monday, June 11th, 7:00pm (free pizza at 6:30pm)

At the Antiwar Crisis Center storefront at 658 Monroe Avenue,
adjacent to Aaron"s Alley, Archimage, etc. near Oxford Street

This is meant to brainstorm ideas about time, place, character,
slogans,
message and supporting activities for a large show of protest to cut
the
funds and build the antiwar movement.

RSVP to March12rawc@yahoo.com for more information