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News from the Keweenaw Peninsula Posted January 21, 2005 Text and photos © 2005 Michele Anderson for Keweenaw Now.

Peace group to petition for end to Iraq War

HOUGHTON -- Members of the Copper Country Peace Alliance held a Peace Presence near the Houghton Post Office on a chilly January 20, Inauguration Day, inviting passers-by to sign a petition for ending the costly war in Iraq.

The petition, dated Jan. 17, 2005, Martin Luther King, Jr., Day, honors Dr. King's 1967 protest against the Vietnam War and asks Michigan's Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow, and Congressman Bart Stupak, D-Menominee, to "call on President Bush to begin the immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq." 

Miriam Pickens, right, of Hancock, signs a petition addressed to Michigan's U.S. Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow and U.S. Representative Bart Stupak, D-Menominee, calling for an end to the Iraq War. At left is Rachael Herzberg, Michigan Tech University graduate student, of Columbus, Ohio, who holds a peace flag. (Photo by Michele Anderson)

The petition quotes Dr. King's words of April 4, 1967: "'A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.'"

Hancock resident Miriam Pickens stopped to sign the petition as the group walked along Shelden Avenue in Houghton.

"I signed it because I think we had no business being in Iraq," Pickens said. "And I think that the election -- well, I'm just befuddled."

Participants in the Peace Presence also handed out leaflets listing the present cost of the Iraq War in lives (more than 1,350 U.S. soldiers killed and more than 10,000 wounded; 24,000 Iraqi soldiers and insurgents killed since May 1, 2003 and between 12,800 and 14,843 Iraqi civilians killed since March 20, 2003) and in dollars: $151.1 billion so far.* 

Quoting from The National Priorities Project, one of the leaflets noted the cost of the Iraq War to Michigan taxpayers alone is already $4.6 billion, which averages out to $3,415 per household. The National Priorities Project statistics show how this money could have been spent in Michigan on such needs as health care, Head Start programs, affordable housing, schools, university scholarships and homes with renewable energy.*

Rachael Herzberg, a Michigan Tech University graduate student of industrial archaeology, from Columbus, Ohio, joined the Peace Alliance members in their peaceful Inauguration Day walk.

"I think it's nice that there are people in the community who are willing to show how they feel about the war -- and their dissatisfaction with the current administration -- in a city where the politics seem to lean more toward the right," Herzberg commented.

Participants in the Copper Country Peace Alliance Peace Presence on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, in Houghton, include, from left, Dana Richter of Hancock, Gordon Borsvold of Calumet, Sara Green of Calumet and Rachael Herzberg, MTU graduate student from Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Michele Anderson)

Houghton Police Chief Ralph Raffaelli spoke briefly to the group about phone calls he had received from residents complaining about their presence in front of the Post Office. 

"It's my job to protect you and to protect everybody," Raffaelli said, acknowledging the fact that the Peace Presence participants took care not to block the sidewalks and maintained a peaceful demeanor.

Dana Richter, who has been circulating the petition, noted friendly responses from passers-by.

"We were so well received that one concerned citizen brought us hot tea!" he said. 

Editor's Notes:  *These numbers were cited from the Institute for Policy Studies and the National Priorities Project. The Institute for Policy Studies is a progressive multi-issue think tank that links ideas to action for peace, justice and the environment. Visit their Web site for a detailed report on the mounting costs of the Iraq War. The National Priorities Project offers citizen and community groups tools and resources to shape federal budget and policy priorities which promote social and economic justice. Visit the National Priorities Project Web site for more information on their work. If you wish to copy the wording of the petition and send it as a message to your Senators and Congressional Representative, click here for the text.

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