Create Your Own Petition to Make Change

Our country was founded on the idea that our government would be instituted under the “rule of law” rather than the political whims of kings and queens as England was ruled in the 1700’s. Our Constitution states Congress must pass a declaration of war before the US military and president can take action against another nation, except in the case America is attacked by another nation. America has NOT been attacked by any of the nations in which our military or CIA forces are fighting today. Furthermore, no declarations of war have been approved by Congress. Thus these wars are illegal under the American Constitution and laws. They are illegal under the UN Charter and various treaties America has signed. Mr. Trump’s threatening preemptive nuclear war and aggression against N. Korea and threatening war of aggression against Venezuela are established war crimes. Trillions of dollars have been spent illegally drowning our Nation in debt and prohibiting the domestic public investments necessary to help our people and environment. Today we have a vast complex comprised of military/industrial/intelligence/elected officials. This complex is an old boys club with each group helping the other get public tax dollars and get richer becoming ever more powerful. This complex spends trillions of dollars on preparation for wars, on actual illegal wars of aggression and sends millions of American soldiers into harm’s way. The result of these illegal wars has been: millions of people have died, been wounded or made ill or homeless by these Wars on Terror. Thousands of American troops have died and hundreds of thousands wounded physically, mentally or emotionally. We must break the back of this “complex.” The impeachment and removal from office of President Trump for war crimes will initiate, hopefully, the dismantling and demise of this “complex” by Congress and future administrations. Why? Because the next president Vice President Pence, or another person, will have to obey the rule of law or he/she will be the next person impeached. Future presidents will think twice before they commit illegal actions. Additionally, once the president has been impeached, the following impeachments of military and intelligence leaders for their violations of their oath of office and the laws of our land will become easier. The American military/industrial/intelligence/elected official complex is possibly the greatest threat to world peace and to the future of America that exists. It must be dismantled and the perpetrators punished and removed from power. We, the below members of Veterans for Peace, are co-sponsors of this petition. We urge you to please sign the petition, share it with your friends and hopefully help save our future! Peace! Philip Anderson, VFP Chapter 80 Duluth-Superior, WI US Army 1975-78 retired-Army & Navy Reserves Buzz Davis, VFP Ch. 13 Tucson, AZ, US Army 1967-70 S. Korea Kay Davis, Assoc. Member VFP Ch. 13 Tucson, AZ Brad Geyer, Ch. 175 Janesville, WI USAF 1989-93 WI ANG 1993-03 Gulf War Dan Luker, VFP Ch. 9 Boston, MA, US Army 1968-71 Vietnam John Spitzberg, Chs. 099/160, Willow, AK, US Army & Air Force 1958-72 Germany Jean Rawson, Assoc. Member VFP Ch. 25 Madison, WI Joshua Shurley, VFP Ch. 180 Fresno, CA, US Army 1993-01 Carroll Nast, VFP Ch. 122 Colfax, CA, USAF 1969-79 Vietnam Wayne Beverly, VFP Udonthani, Thailand USMC Sgt-Vietnam 1966-67 Paul Gessler, VFP Ch. 178 Northern CO USAF 1970-73 ICBM Support Jim Wohlgemuth, VFP Nashville, TN George Newell, Pres. VFP Ch. 120 Boulder, CO USMC 1968-1973 VFP Chapter 120 Boulder, CO Daryl K. Sherman, VFP Ch. 25 Madison, WI US Army Special Forces Sgt. 1956-62 Berlin 60-62 Cynthia Heil, Assoc. Member, VFP Ch. 099 Asheville, NC

The 13th Amendment (1865) ordered the abolition of slavery in the United States, except as punishment for a criminal conviction. In other words, federal law permits the use of prisoners and incarcerated persons for free labor by state officials as well as the private sector. From the late 1800s until now, unpaid prison labor has been the pattern, practice, and collective mindset of various states across America. Southern states have taken particular advantage of the wording of the 13th Amendment, and in turn, current resistance movements have risen out of prison-dense states like Texas and Alabama, where units are often compared to plantations. Over the past few weeks, prison activists in Texas and Alabama have organized a series of prison-labor strikes -- where they refuse to work their assigned jobs in protest of unpaid labor compounded with toxic and unsanitary working conditions. The prison-labor strikes have led to prison lockdowns, starvation tactics and brutality by guards. Thus far, three prison units in Alabama and fourteen units in Texas (including a women's unit) have been placed on lockdown in reprisal for a collective work-stoppage. RootsAction stands in solidarity with these prison activists fighting for their human rights, and we urge you to do the same. Prisoners, like all other human beings, should be compensated for their labor, whether with wages or with reduced sentences. Paying prisoners for their labor enables them, not only to better provide for themselves while in prison, but also to pay outstanding bills and unpaid court fees that have accumulated over time (and that may have landed many of them in prison in the first place). Compensating prisoners for their labor through a legitimate "Work Time" system that reduces their sentence grants hardworking prisoners the opportunity to be reviewed early by parole boards and released back into society. This system also relieves state taxpayers, through the simple fact that an earned early release is one less prisoner to pay for. END PRISON SLAVERY NOW Sign this petition to demand that Congress revisit the 13th Amendment and propose a new amendment to the Constitution that abolishes free prison labor and applies the federal minimum wage to all labor in the U.S. and its imperial territories.

A peace pole is a popular means of expressing a desire for peace around the world, including in the United States, where peace poles are found in public plazas and parks in many locations: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_pole A registry of peace sites lists none in Virginia*: http://www.peacesites.org/sites/map A peace pole can be purchased for $200 with "May Peace Prevail on Earth" written on four sides in four chosen languages: http://stores.bigwaterhosting.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=peacepoles&Category_Code=peace_poles One idea would be to have 6 sides including English, Spanish, and the languages of Cville Sister Cities: Italian, French, Bulgarian, and one of the many languages from Ghana. Or 8 sides with some left blank to be filled in later. Charlottesville's monuments to wars, including the Native American genocide, the defense of slavery, and the slaughter of 3.8 million Vietnamese, dominate public space. Removing them would be ideal. An easier method of quickly displaying our city's support for peace would be to create a peace pole. Charlottesville's city council has spoken up repeatedly over the years for peace, for reduced military spending, for transition to peaceful industries, and for a halt to particular wars. But a visitor to Charlottesville cannot observe any of that anywhere on the landscape. Charlottesville has four sister cities, and signs indicating them are visible in Charlottesville. But the motto of Sister Cities International, "Peace Through People," is nowhere to be found. There is no location set aside to celebrate these relationships, as there could be in combination with a peace pole. Promote this page with this link: http://bit.ly/cvillepeacepole *There are peace poles in Warrenton, Va., and at the Pentagon (which is of course a travesty that injures the whole project). There is a peace pole at a church in Charlottesville and a small pole reading "Peace" at an elementary school. What we're proposing is a public peace pole. THIS PROJECT IS ENDORSED BY: RootsAction.org WorldBeyondWar.org Pax Christi Charlottesville Amnesty International Charlottesville Charlottesville Center for Peace and Justice