Monthly Department of Peace Campaign Conference Call

This is my report on the February call, which took place between 9 PM and 10 PM Eastern time February first, moderated by Matthew Albrecht, Director of the Peace Alliance.
Signing in to the call besides Matthew and me, were Terri Mansfield from Phoenix, head of the AZDOPcampaign, Emily from CA, Kevin from NYC, NY, Frank from Palo Alto CA, Mary from Cleveland OH, Kathy from Houston TX, Jenna from MD, Paul from Canada, Juliana from CA, Linda from Michigan, and Anne from NJ. In addition, I could tell that many late-comers, who had no opportunity to introduce themselves came on the line, because a chime introduces an entrant, much as the sound of a door opening.
We were all speaking to a calling point in southern Nevada, so I think you can understand why nobody called from Maine (though I think maybe my notes are faulty - I vaguely remember hearing mention of Florida).
Matthew got the discussion going early-on, by finding out who was on the line, and asking them to introduce themselves, starting with the East Coast. I looked at my watch. It was precisely 9 PM Eastern. So I wrote in my notes "get in by 9:02". What I really mean is, if you can afford another five minutes in long-distance charges, get in by 8:55, just as if it were a sit-down conference, and you were pulling up a chair, and laying your briefcase on the table.
The Peace Alliance recently sent out its January newsletter, and Matthew went over a lot of the information that is repeated there, adding that the present thinking for the "hopper" time for the 2005 presentation of the DoP bill will be May.
The Peace Conference in Washington is set for September 24/25.
I forget what hotel he said is most prominent in their plans, now. Does anybody remember?
Anne Creter of New Jersey had a question. She said that when her group met with their Representative, the question of his that they were least prepared to answer was "Of what will the day-to-day activities of the Department of Peace consist?" Matthew promised to deliver an answer, then delivered a partial answer before the call ended.
The callers from Canada were asked by Matthew to share what is going on in their country in regards to the DoP. I'd say the answer is - Just as the movement down here is Kucinich-inspired, so it is, up there. But Canada doesn't have a two-party political system - every party is a minority. Right now, the Canadian callers estimate that in the UK and Canada, Cabinet-level DoP is not as close to being a reality as it is in the US.
I'm sure I'm leaving a lot out in this summary. But I don't want to fail to mention that Matthew gave every caller an opportunity to ask questions.
If anyone who participated in or monitored the call would care to amend these notes, I would be happy. This was my first such call.

David Hoag
Organizer
Albany, NY

And this is my report of the March call, which took place at 9 PM Eastern on Tuesday March first. I won't attempt to name all of those in on the conference; suffice it to say that the number equalled about 15 by my count. They included Kathy Kidd from Houston, Lynn McMullen, Matthew Albrecht, Marianne Williamson, Dot Maver and me. Also on the line was a caller from Canada, one from Georgia, several more from New York State, California, and others.

Marianne probably took up the biggest chunck of time, and her telephone connection was poor, so, I have to admit, I can't repeat any of what she said.

Matthew and Lynn had some information for us: The time March 13-16 (inclusive, lacking a day) has been set aside as a conference call time for newcomers -- 7028513330, code456123 is to be used, details are on the webpage.
And the bill drop date has been moved to September 12, to give people like us more time to lobby our Representatives.

Google townhall meeting. This may be a means of getting close to Reps without too much trouble.

All of the initial co-signers have agreed to sign on again.

David Hoag

It's Wednesday, April 6, 2005. Another call was held last night.

It was moderated by Matthew Albracht, who I thought did a fine job. Marianne Williamson had been scheduled to speak on the call for a good part of the hour, but she wound up not speaking at all.

The word is that she had to fly to Houston to tend to her sick mother, who is now in the hospital, and she didn't get back in time for the call.

The good part of the whole story, though, is that somebody mentioned on the conference call that Marianne is slated to speak on the Larry King Live Show on CNN, tonight, April 6th. Spread the word!.

Much was spoken of the PEACE WANTS A PIECE OF THE PIE house party program. I have a note to myself to see the Peace Alliance website for details on that.

Also, http://kucinich.us... has a new look, as of yesterday. Folks should take a look and sign up for their Email. You may find yourself getting information out of Congress as quick as Matthew does.

David

It's now Wednesday, April 27, 2005.

I expect that the Monthly conference call of the Peace Alliance will be held as usual on the first Tuesday of the month, May 3rd, at 9 PM Eastern. Anybody who is interested is welcome to join in on the call.

The number is 702-851-3330, code 456123. The time of the call is 6 PM Pacific.

If you participate in, or monitor the call, it would help immensely if you would take notes and post them so that every word uttered on the call can be savored.

I know that not long ago, I heard Marianne Williamson speak on one of these calls, the connection was poor, and I got practically nothing out of what she had to say. Which is a pity; I have heard her at other times, and I know that she can be a dynamic speaker.

David Hoag

It's Wednesday, May 4.

Lynn McMullen moderated the call last night. I got in at the last minute, but I'd say that there were about a dozen people on the line.

One of the most important pieces of information that I gathered is that the "hopper" date for the introduction of the Peace bill into the House has been changed from the 12th to the 13th of September because of an unexpected Congressional recess.

The Washington, D.C. Conference Dates remain unchanged, though. The conference will run from Saturday 9/10 to the following Monday, and Loews Hotel will be used. More information will be on the website. In attendance will be Dennis Kucinich, Marianne Williamson, Judy Collins and Walter Cronkite, to name a few. Again, http://www.thepeaceal... should have up-to-the-minute information.

An August Congressional recess will take place, a great opportunity for tabling, face-to-face conversations with Representatives, and attendance at town hall meetings.

If anybody is interested in contributing to a drama in which the hero is a peaceful man, contact leadershipcommunity@yahoo.com.

David
a.k.a. KC2LVD