| Friday, September 23, 2016
International Peace Day!
 Wedneday, September 21st, was International Peace Day!. Veterans For Peace collaborated with Campaign Nonviolence to commemorate Peace Day, which resulted in over 780 actions across the country!
As veterans we see the connection between the endless wars abroad, our bloated military industrial complex, and the inequities it brings to the poor and marginalized all over the world. It is not enough that we veterans see and understand the interconnectedness. If we want to abolish war we must help our fellow citizens here at home see the same connection. We need to understand that dropping more bombs, killing innocent civilians in Muslim countries and the resort to military solutions is robbing the world’s children of health care, education and meaningful jobs to build a safer and more secure future. We believe that as people see and understand this connection, they will stand up with us against war. We can then work together to put in place the building blocks necessary to build a sustainable and peaceful future. < Full Statement Here >
VFP Supports Colin Kaepernick
Recently Colin Kaepernick has been in the national news for refusing to stand during the singing of the United States national anthem before the start of National Football League preseason games. His choice to remain seated or kneeling is to protest police misconduct and violence faced by Black people and other people of color. He has been maligned, accused of being unpatriotic and disrespecting active duty service members and veterans.
Veterans For Peace also recognizes that just as Kaepernick has the right to stand or not stand for the national anthem, people have the right to criticize the way he has chosen to express himself. But to question his patriotism and use smear tactics to quiet him is in direct contradiction to the spirit of the right to freedom of expression. His act of protest is a political act to register his discontent with the actions of his government. It is a nonviolent act that demands positive change for a better future for all of us. It is exactly the kind of speech the First Amendment was designed to protect and as veterans we applaud his use of his rights for the cause of equality and justice; rights and ideals that we are told we served to defend. < Full Statement Here >
VFP Travels to Okinawa
 Recently a Veterans For Peace (VFP) delegation had six members from different chapters around the US traveled to Okinawa to join the local resistance to oppose the expansion of two US military bases. The delegation consists of a diverse team of war veterans from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Vietnam. Also, three of the members are former US Marines who were stationed on Okinawa during their service. Click here to read member Will Griffin's reflection. Also check out VFP members in action against US military bases!
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Member Highlights!
VFP members travel to Standing Rock. Check out member Craig Wood's reflection and members Martin Bates and Janie Stein's beautiful pictures.
Advisory Board Member Ann Wright is about to embark on the Women's Boat to Gaza. Check out her latest update and follow her journey!
Help Veterans Stop the Privatization of the VA Hospital System! Please sign the petition!
New National Office Positions
Shelly Rockett has recently become our new Business Manager. She's taken over Virginia's responsibilities.
Colleen Kelly has recently become our Communications Coordinator. Please make sure to send updates for the E-Blast and the website to her! She's looking forward to getting to know all the great work VFP members are involved in! Email her at colleen@veteransforpeace.org
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Solidarity With Standing Rock!
 Veterans For Peace stands in solidarity with the historic resistance at the Camp of the Sacred Stones in North Dakota. We join our Indigenous sisters and brothers in opposing the construction of an oil pipeline by the Dakota Access company that threatens drinking water and sacred burial grounds.
We acknowledge that the courageous stand of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and many allied tribes is being carried out by caretakers of the earth who are protecting and defending their ancestral lands and the water that runs through it for current and future generations.
The continued assault against the sacred land and water as well as the destruction and desecration of sacred sites is an atrocity and must be stopped. The United States must honor its treaties and recognize Indigenous rights.
We strongly condemn the violence being used against the resistance and believe it to be both a crime and a human rights abuse. <Full Statement Here>
MFSO: Sign The Petition!
 Military Families Speak Out is organizing to stop blank checks for endless war! Please sign the petition.
Help Rep. Barbara Lee to get congress to repeal the 2001 and 2002 AUMFs.
Repeal the Authorization for Use of Military Force – the flawed blank check that authorizes the president to wage war, anywhere at any time. It’s been fifteen years of endless war. Now is the time for the U.S. Congress to repeal the overly broad 2001 and 2002 AUMFs.
Sign Rep. Barbara Lee's petition to Congress telling them to repeal the 2001 and 2002 AUMFs – blank checks for endless war.
New Veterans for Peace Tour to Cuba 
We will be leading our 4th VFP tour to Cuba in December 2016. All VFP members and supporters are invited to share solidarity with our Cuban neighbors and fellow Vets.
Please look over the tour (scroll to December Tour) and contact me if you are interested.
Contact: Jim Ryerson: jimryerson@earthlink.net
Black Lives Matter T-Shirts Now Available!
The VFP Store now has Black Lives Matter T-shirts!
We know that militarization at home and militarization abroad are interconnected. Working for peace abroad means working for peace at home.
Sep 23-25 - World Beyond War Conference: No War 2016: Real Security Without Terrorism in Washington, DC
Sept 26 - Tour of VFP Authors Advocating Peace in Southern CA
Sept 26 - International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons
Sep 2016 - Ann Wright and Diane Wilson sail on Women's Boats to Gaza
Oct 7-10 - First SOAW bi-national convergence at the U.S./Mexico border in Nogales, Arizona
Oct 11-26 - 2016 Maine Peace Walk - Stop the War$ on Mother Earth in various cities in Maine
Nov 11 - Armistice Day in your city
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