Inaugural Weekend Actions: Drones, Military Budget and Monsanto and More

By Margaret Flowers - Posted on 11 January 2013

Many people will be in Washington the weekend of Jan.19th and Monday Jan. 21, Martin Luther King Day, to celebrate President Obama's second inauguration.

Many others will be there to protest his policies and hold him accountable. Here are two actions that we know of that weekend in Washington. If you have others, please let us know.

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Arc of Justice - March and Rally to protest drones and other injustices. The event will begin at Meridian Hill Park (Malcolm X Park) with a rally at 9 am. At 10 am we will proceed down 16th Street NW to K Street NW where we will disband, some to continue to the Inauguration area, the parade route, or back to the rally site.

They have permits for a rallying area and a march through the streets of Washington DC on January 21st(Inauguration Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and three years anniversary of the Citizens United ruling).

This is a perfect time and opportunity to underscore our deep differences with the Obama Administration and those in power. We cannot stay home and hope for change. Too many of us did that. We maintain that with strong organization, coalition building, and the creative drive of activists, the vitally needed changes will become reality.

Imagine January 21st as a day where only the wealthy and elite, the bankers, the corporate profiteers, the war hawks, and the unquestioning supporters of those in office are the only people in sight, leaving the impression that the work is done and the decisions final.

This would leave the only dissent against the Obama Administration and Congress to those who would allow the slashing of the social safety net, continue to weaken the rule of law, decide for the moneyed interests over those of the people, invade our privacy, escalate military expeditions abroad; attack Muslims, minorities, and the foreign born; allow impunity for torture, and promote the use of surveillance drones at home and our killer drones abroad.

This is why our voices and bodies are needed in the streets of Washington DC on January 21, 2013, recommitting ourselves to creating a society based on justice for all, knowing as Dr. King said:

“Difficult and painful as it is, we must walk on in the days ahead with an audacious faith in the future. When our days become dreary with low-hovering clouds of despair, and when our nights become darker than a thousand midnights, let us remember that there is a creative force in this universe, working to pull down the gigantic mountains of evil, a power that is able to make a way out of no way and transform dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows. Let us realize the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”

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From Stop These Wars

Support the Arc of Justice Rally and Parade

“Let us realize the arc of the moral universe is long,
but it bends toward justice”
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Friends,

We invite you to participate in the Arc of Justice Parade in Washington, DC, on Monday, January 21, 2013.

Set to coincide with Inauguration Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and the third anniversary of the Citizens United Supreme Court ruling, the Arc of Justice rally and parade will be a determined but hopeful expression of our concern and dissent against the wars, occupations, loss of civil liberties, overwhelming corporate and big money power over our lives, environmental degradation, and many other important issues mostly abused, ignored, or minimized by recent administrations and Congress.

It is a call to action to those in power and to those who would join us to create real change and to renew our drive to build a strong, cohesive peace and to build lasting justice and civil rights movements.

The event will begin at Meridian Hill Park (Malcolm X Park) with a rally at 9 am. At 10 am we will proceed down 16th Street NW to K Street NW where we will disband, some to continue to the Inauguration area, the parade route, or back to the rally site.

We are inviting people and organizations working on issues around: 1) human rights (here and abroad); 2) truth justice, and accountability; 3) military might, preemptive wars, and empire building; 4) the power of the corporations and the super wealthy; and 5) the degradation of our environment. If you are not already in a coalition with other people and organizations working in your general area, we see the weekend before Inauguration Day as an important time to meet and plan for the future. Please confer with your associates and let us know how we can help make your participation work.

Imagine if January 21 were a day where only the wealthy and elite, the bankers, the corporate profiteers, the war hawks, and the unquestioning supporters of those in office were the only people in sight, leaving the impression that the work is done and the decisions final.

We cannot stay home and hope and wait for change. With strong organizing, coalition building, and the creative drive of activists such as you, the vitally needed changes will become reality. This is why our voices and bodies are needed in the streets with the Arc of Justice Coalition on January 21, 2013, to recommit ourselves to creating a society based on justice for all.

Join us and let’s organize together! Please email us at arcofjustice2013@gmail.com and we will contact you with additional details. We welcome your assistance and support in outreach, media, logistical preparations, planning, and database building.

And SO important: Please invite other people and organizations you know who may want to join us.

Let us work together to realize the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.

Listen to our theme song. The lyrics begin “I will stand with you, will you stand with me? We will be the change that we hope to see.”

We hope that you will join us on January 21 in our continued effort to make Dr. King’s prophetic quote a reality.

Yours in peace, Co-Chairs: Malachy Kilbride Peace & social justice activist affiliated with the National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance, Northern Virginians for Peace & Justice, and Witness Against Torture, and the Bradley Manning Support Network

Joan Stallard CodePink DC Coordinator, MoveOn DC Coordinator, Move to Amend, Coalition on Corporate Power,WILPF

Our email: arcofjustice2013@gmail.com
Or follow us on Twitter: @arcofjustice13

GMO-Free Inauguration

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As the world comes to Washington, DC to celebrate the inauguration of President Barack Obama, safe food activists will be gathering to demand the President follow up with his campaign promise to label genetically engineered foods.

Over 90% of Americans want food labels to indicate if the ingredients came from a genetically engineered plant or animal. Polls show that across all political party affiliations Americans believe that they should have the fundamental right to know the source of their food.

Since President Obama has been in office, he’s placed former Monsanto employees in positions of enormous power at the FDA, EPA, and the USDA. This regulatory capture of America’s food system has made our food supply less safe. During Obama’s tenure as President there has been a large increase in the number of food recalls due to bacteria and other adulterants.

There have been two different petitions on the White House’s website that have met the signature threshold for a response from the President. Over 6 months later, the White House has failed to respond to people’s concerns.

On Monday, January 21, come join us on the National Mall in Washington, DC to raise awareness about GMO and to demand that President Obama follow-up with his promise to label GMO foods. We will be gathering in Dupont Circle at 9:00 AM and we’ll depart for the National Mall at 9:30 AM. Please dress warmly!

RSVP on Facebook.

Margaret Flowers's blog
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Inaugural Weekend Actions: Drones, Military Budget and Monsanto and More

Many people will be in Washington the weekend of Jan.19th and Monday Jan. 21, Martin Luther King Day, to celebrate President Obama's second inauguration.

Many others will be there to protest his policies and hold him accountable. Here are two actions that we know of that weekend in Washington. If you have others, please let us know.

Support the Arc of Justice Rally and Parade

GMO-Free Inauguration

Pledge

Facebook

Fair Use Notice

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