We are on the final paragraph of an important page to end all US-sponsored torture. This very day, leadership from the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (our parent organization) met with the Obama transition team to ask our incoming President to sign an executive order banning torture.  They delivered our signatures – symbolizing our outrage and intention to them. We do not yet know exactly what Obama and his team will do, but we do know that they are listening to us.

Please join Seattle’s Martin Luther King Jr. day this coming Monday, January 19. (www.mlkseattle.org) It is an important and historic day for peace and justice. If you are unable to go to D.C. for the inauguration, plan on marching with us the day before.  The Seattle march is one of the largest and most high profile MLK events around the country. Not surprisingly, this year will be a particularly meaningful day and is expected to be covered by national and regional media. (Past years attendance have been around 10,000 so plan extra time  – ) Join us for as much as you are able. Schedule follows:

• 9:30 a.m. Dr. Rob Crawford and Sufi Minister, Jamal Rahman will be presenting an ending torture workshop on the theme:  “Yes we can. Change begins now.” Room 209, Garfield High School (http://www.ghs.seattleschools.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=page&sectionid=102)
• 11:00 a.m. MLK Rally - in the school
• 12:00 noon-ish MLK March. We will be marching from Garfield High School to the Federal Building (912 2nd Avenue) with our banners. Unfurl your banner and/or look for us just outside Garfield High. Please be there no later than 12:15 pm.  Look for our banners and make your way! Please allocate sufficient time. The march takes about and hour and 1/2.

In the days following MLK Day, we will be bringing copies of our 2,300 signatures to our elected officials. If we have the support of our new administration, the next “page” of our work will shift to legislation and education; and calling for an independent commission to study what happened. From there, we will seek appropiate restorative justice measures. More to come soon.

Thank you for all you do – for your determination and passion, your conscience and morality – and for believing that your voice – against all the odds – matters.

Peace, peace,

Shannon Parks-Beck

Outreach, WSRCAT

In this historic moment, the American moral conscience has been revived. The whole world was watching as Barack Obama accepted our invitation to become the next President of the United States. This is indeed a moment to savor.

Barack Obama’s campaign has laid a groundwork for change. Now is the time for WSRCAT to ask him to return our country to consistent moral leadership. It’s time to turn up the volume. There will be many voices vying for our President-elect’s attention. We want him to hear and respond affirmatively to our critical work.

You have been laying the groundwork for change by signing the Presidential Executive Order and by gathering signatures to end all U.S.-sponsored torture. The hope that we feel is a call to action. We have been invited to participate in our democracy again – let’s do it!

• Wednesday, November 12 “End all Torture” event – 7:30 – 9:00 pmGoals: educate, stimulate conversation, present signatures to our electeds

1. Get the word out – print and distribute flyers to coffee shops, community bookstores, PCC, etc.
2. Bring one new person with you to University UCC on the 12th

• After November 12 -
  

1. Keep gathering signatures until January 10
2. Congressional visits – we are rescheduling visits to a time when our elected officials are in town. They were called back to a lame duck session. (Call me if you want to be part of a delegation.)
3. MORE TO COME

LET’S TURN UP THE VOLUME!

*Amnesty International* is having an important rally tomorrow 6:30 -8:00 p.m.

Details about the Troy Davis rally (www.aiusa.org/troy).  WILL SOMEONE GO TO THE RALLY FOR WSRCAT?

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT WE NEED EVERYONE TO HELP US GATHER SIGNATURES–NOW!

CONGRESSIONAL VISITS FROM WSRCAT MEMBERS BEFORE OUR NOVEMBER 12 EVENT IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF OUR FALL STRATEGY:

2. NEXT WEEK: *Visit Senator Patty Murray* Call or email me if you are interested. We will bring a “Banners across America”  poster, thank her for her work, and inform her of our efforts.

3. NEXT WEEK: *Visit Jim McDermott in the next week. *See above.

THERE ARE STILL OTHER CONGRESSIONAL OFFICES THAT NO ONE HAS SIGNED UP TO
VISIT, INCLUDING SENATOR CANTWELL.  PLEASE CONSIDER HELPING BY VISITING
YOUR CONGRESSMEN WITH OUR CONCERNS.

Get ahold of Shannon at windsweeper@gmail.com

SORRY ABOUT THE UNPLEASANT “POSSIBLE RELATED LINKS” THAT WE HAVE NO CONTROL OVER. PLEASE IGNORE.

Here is an update of what one woman can do. It is from Nina, who attends Blessed Sacrament:

“but I do want you to know that Blessed Sacrament, as a parish (staff, Pastoral council, Peace and Justice committee) are signing the NRCAT and WSRCAT endorsements and the Declaration of Principles. I have an article going into the church newsletter in the next two weeks … I will have a table in the back of the church on Nov. 2 with more info, signing endorsements, etc.”

And now for several other ways for you to gather signatures and promote Nov. 12. Not everyone will be able to get your congregation’s endorsement (not in the next few weeks); but everyone could gather individual endorsements of the Executive Order Principles.

Saturday, October 18, at 10:00 a.m. Greg Speltz, from St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, will be outside the University District’s Farmer’s Market gathering signatures and handing out fliers. He will need reinforcements! 206-632-1523

Sunday, October 19, at 12:15, Shannon Parks-Beck will be doing the same just north of the Ballard Farmer’s Market on Ballard Avenue.

Will you be joining Greg or me? Please give us a call so we can look for you. Having 2-3 people is a much stronger witness than 1. If the timing or location does not work for you, where will you be gathering signatures? If you can pull together a team to gather somewhere else, please let us know and we will doe everything we can to get the word out.

Regarding congressional visits:
Rev. Weldon Nisely, of Seattle Mennonite, is willing to join a team to visit Congressman McDermott. Can you lead this team? Or join it? Let me know.
We are still seeking teams to visit other congress people and are particularly interested in Jay Inslee and Rick Larsen. If you can join a team, let me know.

Check out the updates on our public site, thanks to Jean’s work. Just click on my closing salutation.

Wishing you peace and grace, passion and determination,
Shannon

This is the first of regular posts calling you to our important work. Our most pressing goal is to make it possible for our next President to forge a new moral path in our country by signing The Executive Order Against Torture. We will focus on this in the next two weeks.

We want to flood our congressional and senate representatives with the sheer numbers of supporters of the Executive Order principles. We are setting an October 31deadline for gathering signatures so that they can be presented to our public officials after the election, at our November 12 even in Seattle, “A Call to End All Torture.”

Additionally, we want your representatives to attend the November 12 event. We cannot ask them to endorse the project until after the election. Thus, we are asking their presence at this post-election event–both so they can learn more about our perspectives on ending all US-sponsored torture and so they can receive our petitions in support of the Executive Order that will finally achieve our goal.

Two Requests:

• Help us gather thousands of signatures of endorsement for the Executive Order. WSRCAT is officially choosing this coming weekend, October 11-12, and the following weekend, October 17-18 as SIGNATURE SATURDAY/SUNDAY. Let’s see how many signature we can get from our homes, neighborhoods, places of worship. Our experience shows that most signatures can be garnered taking it to the streets.
• We want to form teams of 2-3 or more to target the following areas: Pike Place, Ballard Sunday Market, West Seattle (Alki and California), MLK area, downtown Bellevue, downtown Kirkland, YOUR URBAN CENTER

All you need is the signature sheets, Executive order principle, flyers for the November event, a pen, a clipboard, and a smile. If you have never done this, it is simple and can be a good time, especially when done in teams. Be sure and send them away with the flyer.

Also, Help us recruit your elected officials to attend the November 12 event!

Your congressional rep wants to hear from YOU! Will you call/visit their office and invite them to attend the November 12 gathering as a special guest of WSRCAT? If you make an appointment to visit with 3 or more, it will be more effective.

1st District – Jay Inslee

2nd District – Rick Larsen

3rd District – Brian Baird

4th District – Doc Hastings

5th District – Cathy McMorris

6th District – Norm Dicks

7th District – Jim McDermott

8th District – Dave Reichert

9th District – Adam Smith

Senator Patty Murray and Senator Maria Cantwell

http://apps.leg.wa.gov.districtfinder.congress.aspx

The League of Women voters guide is the first link under blog roll.

Again, they want to hear from you. You are there WSRCAT representative. Please let Rob Crawford know if you are going to visit or have secured one of our elected officials.

Wishing you courage and peace,

Shannon Parks-Beck

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