Inside the Belly of the Beltway Beast

Nonviolent Maryland citizens protesting Iraq War are taken away by Capitol Police; Senator continues to support war funding Washington, D.C. - At 6:05pm today, Sen. Barbara Mikulski had Capitol Police arrest four of her own constituents when they refused to leave her office. The four were part of a group of 20 that nonviolently occupied Sen. Mikulski’s office for three hours that afternoon, reading the names of Iraqi and American dead in a memorial to those killed, and in a plea to Sen. Mikulski to stop voting for continued war funding. Sen. Mikulski has refused repeated requests to meet with the Maryland groups opposing the war, and has said that she will continue to vote for funding for the Iraq war even while she claims to oppose it. She has also called President Bush, whose war plan the Senator is fully funding, a "reckless and dangerous" man. The ceremony was a moving one for the participants, and started with a reading of the names of the 55 Marylanders who have been ki...

The Washington Peace Center Hosts a Discussion on Investigations of Bush-Cheney and the Process of Impeachment Friday, March 9th, 6:30 PM, St. Stephen Episcopal Church, 16th and Newton Streets, NW (Nearest Metro is Columbia Heights) Featured Panel will Include ~ * Congresswoman Liz Holtzman (NY) who served on the Impeachment Panel during Richard Nixon and author of the book "The Impeachment of George W. Bush" * David Swanson: Former Dennis Kucinich campaign staffer, national board member of Progressive Democrats of America and co-founder of Afterdowningstreet.org * John Judge: Director of CHOICES, fomer staffer of Rep. Cynthia McKinney and co-author of legislation to pursue articles of impeachment against President Bush. * And moderated by Pete Perry: Coordinator of the Washington Peace Center, a former reporter and staff assistant to the late Sen. Paul Wellstone

This was a great action, and I think next time we will be staying longer. We might utilize waves of protestors to lengthen it. I am very proud to be taking part in The Occupation project! Indeed, the most efficient way to end this quagmire in Iraq is to cut off funds. And the best way to support our troops is to get them out of the quagmire and bring them home now. THe incident between Kevin Z. and Ms. Schwarts was unfortunate, but it's not as bad as this story makes it out to be. Also, Kevin's son got some excellent video footage of our little occupation. Maryland Protesters Demand Mikulski's 'NO' Vote on War Funding By HALLIE C. FALQUET, Capital News Service WASHINGTON - Maryland protesters stood shoulder to shoulder in Sen. Barbara Mikulski's Washington office Thursday morning for an hour and a half, reading out loud the names of both Maryland and Iraqi fallen soldiers. "Sen. Mikulski's heart is in the right place," said Mary Parker of Mt. Raini...

info@PeaceActionMC.org Marylanders Occupy Sen. Barbara Mikulski’s Washington Office Activists read the names of Maryland and Iraqi Dead, Call for Her to Stop Funding the War Washington, D.C: Twenty Maryland residents occupied Senator Barbara Mikulski’s Hart Senate Building office in protest over her refusal to use Congress’s power of the purse to end the occupation of Iraq. During the occupation, which filled her office, lasted almost two hours and ended without arrest, the nonviolent activists read names of American and Iraqi war dead, and held a banner saying "Not One More Dollar. Not One More Life." Numerous Maryland press outlets covered the event. Representatives of Maryland peace groups have met numerous times over the past three years with Senator Mikulski and with her staff, asking that the senator back up her stated opposition to the war in Iraq by voting against the funding for it. Senator Mikulski has always refused, and she has voted for every dollar that has bee...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, February 13, 2007 CONTACT: Kevin Martin, Executive Director, Peace Action and Peace Action Education Fund (301) 565-4050, ext. 307 (office), (301) 537-8244 (mobile) Iraq War to be put on trial in Washington, DC along with Non-violent Peace Activists on Valentine’s Day WHO: Over 50 religious and secular peace activists arrested on Capitol Hill last September for acts of non-violent civil resistance to the war in Iraq WHAT: Trial on charges of Unlawful Assembly and Crossing a Police Line WHERE: District of Columbia Superior Court, 500 Indiana Ave., NW, Washington, DC WHEN: Valentine’s Day – Wednesday, February 14, 9:00 a.m. BACKGROUND: On September 26 and 27, 2006, hundreds of non-violent protesters converged on Capitol Hill to bear witness to their opposition to the US occupation of Iraq. The protests were organized by the National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance as part of a nationally coordinated campaign called the Declaration of Peace, in which thousand...

For more information, please check out www.vcnv.org. Here is a CNN report on Monday's action: Monday, February 05, 2007 Ten protesters arrested in McCain's office from Alexander Mooney--> WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. Capitol Police arrested 10 anti-war protestors in Sen. John McCain's Capitol Hill office Monday, police spokeswoman Sgt. Kimberly Schneider tells CNN. The protestors, members of the anti-war organization "Code Pink," said the demonstration was one of more than two dozen similar protests held across the country on Monday. The group said more protests were planned targeting congressional offices in the coming months. The demonstrations were held Monday to coincide with the fourth anniversary of the U.N. speech delivered by former Secretary of State Colin Powell outlining the threat Iraq posed to the world because of its weapons of mass destruction programs, according to a press release issued by the organization. The demonstration in McCain's offic...