July 3, 2007



Join "Peace is Patriotic" parades around the country

Declare independence
from war in DC

Join local groups in action

I MISS AMERICA!

Dear CODEPINKer,

How ironic that George Bush would choose the week of July 4th to commute the sentence of felon Scooter Libby! At a time when we're supposed to celebrate the democratic underpinnings of our nation's founding, Bush shows us his utter contempt for our Constitution and the rule of law.

So it's up to us, the people, to mark July 4th celebrating true patriots and patriotic acts of dissent.

Brave government "insiders" have been speaking out against the illegal invasion of Iraq. Ret. Col. Ann Wright resigned her diplomatic post to protest the invasion. Pentagon contracting officer Bunnatine Greenhouse revealed the fraudulent awarding of billions of dollars in no-bid contracts. FBI investigator Colleen Rawley denounced the Administrations disregard for pre-9/11 intelligence.

More and more Iraq veterans are speaking out against the war. Just this week three vets were arrested for protesting and "trespassing" at the Fort Benning military base in Georgia.

CODEPINK has been redefining patriotism since it started over four years ago, with our humorous response to Bush's color-coded terror alerts designed to incite fear rather than inspire love and tolerance. We stand up to the Bush-Cheney gang inside political events, on the streets of cities and towns across the country, and now in the halls of Congress every day. Most recently, we formed the Pink Police. With copies of the Constitution in hand, we serenade our elected officials with a song that speaks to American Values, sung to the tune of "I've been working on the railroad":

We defend the constitution
We're the pink police
We defend the constitution
And we defend free speech
Can't you hear the people shouting?
It's become a roar!
Can't you hear the people shouting?
Time to end this war!

And click here to watch us singing our impeachment song!

Today, more than ever, we need more patriots to expose the criminal behavior of our government. This July 4th, let's commit ourselves to increase our level of outrage and our demand for accountability.

When you celebrate the 4th of July with your friends and family and attend parades or firework displays, you can spread the message that peace is patriotic. In DC we'll be dressing as "I Miss America" and "I Miss Justice" with gowns and sashes, and creating a radical pink cheerleading contingent at the national parade, and CODEPINK local groups around the country will be joining parades with "Peace is Patriotic" messages. You can also join CODEPINK in action every day, as we boldly declare independence from war in DC and in the city or town nearest to you! For further inspiration, read Medea Benjamin's Celebrating Independence in the Era of Empire.

Let's all join together and demand a nation based on the rule of law and living in peace with its neighbors. Now that's patriotism!

Celebrating dissent daily,
Dana, Desiree, Ena, Farida, Gael, Gayle, Jodie, Karin, Leslie, Medea, Nancy, Patricia, Rae, Rocio, Samantha, and Vanessa

P.S.
Declare Independence from Oil! Are you attending one of Al Gore's Live Earth events this weekend on 7/7/07? If so, bring our No War, No Warming! Petition with you and gather signatures on the pledge at the event! Click here to download the printable petition. Mail the signatures to our office and we'll deliver them to Congress for you.

If you haven't yet, please sign our petition to Impeach Dick Cheney.