Sat Oct 8, State-wide organizing for National Guard Petition

[paineinthearse]

Sat Oct 8, State-wide organizing for Nat Guard Petition

Dear friends,

This Saturday, October 8, 11 am to 4 pm, HomeFromIraqNow.org will be participating in an afternoon long statewide organizing meeting hosted by American Friends Service Committee and Traprock Peace Center to talk about their campaign to bring the Massachusetts National Guard home from Iraq. As part of the program, we will be conducting a workshop on collecting signatures for our binding initiative. The event will also include a panel discussion with the families of military personnel who are or have been in Iraq.

Details of the entire program and directions are attached. All are welcome. There is no charge for attending.

We hope to see you there.

Harold Hubschman
HomeFromIraqNow.org

----------------------------------------------

Next step after Washington !
October 8 state-wide organizing meeting
to bring the Massachusetts National Guard home from Iraq
11am to 4pm
Cambridge Friends School
5 Cadbury Road North Cambridge Parking available

On October 8 we will have a chance to take the momentum generated by the massive Washington DC mobilization this past weekend and create an exciting state-wide campaign against the Iraq war here in Massachusetts. Please join friends from western, central and eastern Mass. from 11am to 4pm to launch a coordinated state-wide campaign to bring the Massachusetts National Guard home from Iraq.

The day will feature a panel of National Guard and other military families with loved ones who have been in Iraq. We will figure out how to best present our case for bringing the troops home. But the focus of the day will be interactive workshops designed to strategize, plan and lay out the 3 components of a statewide campaign, some of which have been already initiated locally in different parts of our state. These 3 organizing efforts are: 1) the historic opportunity for a state-wide binding ballot initiative to appear on the November 2006 ballot which, if passed, would by law require our Governor to take all legal action available to both recall Massachusetts National Guard members from Iraq and prevent future deployments to Iraq. To get this binding ballot initiative on the ballot, we need the signatures of 100,000 registered Massachusetts voters by mid-November. 2) Town Meeting and City Council Resolutions in towns and cities across the state demanding the return of the Massachusetts National Guard from Iraq. Four town meetings in western Mass. have already passed such resolutions which provide the opportunity to raise the issue of the war on a very local level. 3) A possible state legislative hearing focused on the human and economic cost of deploying the Mass. National Guard to Iraq.

For directions or more information contact:
American Friends Service Committee Cambridge: 617-497-5273 (Paul)
American Friends Service Committee Western Mass: 413-584-8975 [e-mail] (Joanne) Traprock Peace Center: 413-773-7427 [e-mail] (Sunny)


----------------------------------------------------------------


Directions to CFS

Cambridge Friends School is located at 5 Cadbury Road, Cambridge, Massachusetts, near the intersection of Walden and Sherman Streets. (On some maps, Cadbury Road is labeled "Sheridan Street.")

By Car:

From Harvard Square: Proceed west on Massachusetts Avenue (toward Arlington), past Porter Square. Turn left on Walden Street. A Kentucky Fried Chicken is on the corner. Follow Walden through the set of lights at Raymond Street. Turn right on Wood Street (the first right after Raymond Street). Follow Wood Street to the end and into the CFS parking lot.

From the West:

Take Route 2 into Cambridge (Concord Turnpike). Bear left and follow signs for Route 16 and Tufts University. Continue on Route 16 until you come to the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue. Turn right on Massachusetts Avenue. Continue until you come to Walden Street. A Kentucky Fried Chicken on the corner. Turn right on Walden Street. Follow Walden through the set of lights at Raymond Street. Turn right on Wood Street (the first right after Raymond Street). Follow Wood Street to the end and into the CFS parking lot.

From the Mass Turnpike:

Take the Allston-Cambridge exit and head for Cambridge. Cross the river and turn left on Memorial Drive (Route 2). Follow Memorial Drive past Harvard Square and on to Fresh Pond Parkway (still Route 2). After the set of lights at Brattle Street, turn right at next set of lights onto Huron Avenue. Follow to the second set of lights. Turn left onto Reservoir Street, which turns into Walden Street. Follow through 3 sets of lights past Massé Hardware on the left. Take the next left to Wood Street. Follow Wood Street to the end and into the CFS parking lot.

By public transportation:

By subway: Take the Red Line to Porter Square. Walk across Massachusetts Avenue to Upland Road. Follow Upland Road about six blocks to Raymond Street. Turn right on Raymond Street and follow one block (by the park), turn left onto Walden Street, go half a block and turn right onto Wood Street. Follow Wood Street until the end, cross Cadbury and walk up the path to the main office.

By bus:

Take the Belmont bus, #74 from Harvard Square. Get off at Walden Street. Walk 3-4 blocks to the right down Walden Street to Sherman Street. Take a left onto Sherman Street (Massé Hardware is on the corner) and turn right onto Cadbury Road.

By bus:

Take the #77 North Cambridge bus from Harvard Square. Get off at Walden Street (Kentucky Fried Chicken is on the corner). Walk up Walden Street for several blocks until you come to Wood Street. Turn right onto Wood Street. Follow Wood Street until the end, cross Cadbury and walk up the path to the main office.