Walter Reed Vigil Report No. 11


October 28, 2005
War Day 1,240

Twenty to thirty people participated in tonight's vigil, including Cindy Sheehan who took flowers and a large "get well" card signed by many fellow Americans into Walter Reed, where she was greeted warmly. The WR staff told her they supported everything she was doing and gave her a card that grants her permanent visiting rights at WR.
Lights to ward off the darkness.
Those who imagine the Walter Reed Vigil to be some kind of affront to the wounded soldiers and the workers inside the medical center should take the time to pay us a visit. They will find that the vigil is a visible reminder of the cost of this war and the prolonged occupation of Iraq. The Vigil is a quiet but insistent call to action. The war will not be ended by a small band of dedicated people. The time is now for every American to stop and take a stand, wherever they are, at this Vigil or any time and place they can. When we stand together against injustice, we will overcome. History proves that over and over again.
Paul the Peacemaker. Crippled and blinded from the affects of a brick thrown by a Klansman, Paul, a carpenter before his injuries, has dedicated the remainder of his life to the cause of Peace.

Does this look like a protest against the troops? We want them home and taken care of; we don't want them in Iraq or mixed up in any other war for profit, expansion, and domination.

Among those at the vigil are many union members. Many of those sent to occupy Iraq are union members or children of union members. The AFL-CIO has called for the rapid withdrawal of our troops from Iraq and the fulfillment of the promise of proper care and benefits for all of our veterans. Workers, union and those still unorganized, are tired of the broken promises and lies of the current administration.

We want to know why this country was hustled into a war that was not necessary. Why are we making war on Iraqi workers and their families and ignoring the real problems of runaway factories, exploitation of foreign workers without the rights to organize, a National Labor Relations Board stacked with Bush appointees who among other anti-worker decisions have decreed graduate students who teach are not workers and not entitled to union representation. (Go NYU grad students who are going on strike Wednesday November 9th to fight for their union, UAW 2110.)

The refusal to construct legislation for universal health coverage is aimed at undermining workers' struggle to organize and negotiate good contracts. Failure to protect workers' pensions is a betrayal that no worker will ever forget. Politicians of both parties shamefully neglect those who labor for their earnings while pandering to the gamblers on Wall Street and the corporate board rooms. They hate the Vigil because it is a constant reminder that there is a human cost to this war-this war that is another crime against American workers.

British news hounds at the vigil the previous week. Where are the US news hounds? Why will Europeans know about the wounded at Walter Reed but Americans won't? (Yes, there is a story in the Post, not badly done but hidden deep in the Metro section of the Sunday edition.)
Johnny Boy (on the left), a Freeper, came over to engage in civilized conversation. He agreed that human beings have free will but did not think he could break free of the brainwashing he's received. He feels the world's problems are due to Moslem terrorists and UFOs.
A Freeper makes himself comfortable in front of the "Bring the Troops Home Now" bus. Is it any surprise he feels more comfortable on our side of the street?

Screaming Freeper illustrates lack of consideration for the healing wounded. Note Karl Rove look alike (or is he the real deal?) peeking from behind sign. Earlier he stood in the street with a life-size cardboard W (or was it the real deal?) with a sign reading "Indict This". Maybe one day, not to far off from now. Glad to see the Freepers think so too.

Bruce Wolf
A Walter Reed Vigil Participant