Heidi's Blog

Changes

2007-10-29T17:53:00.000-07:00

Peacethings has a new home with Lisa Ottman of the Dayton International Peace Museum http://www.daytonpeacemuseum.org/. The business is flourishing, and I am so happy! It's been like raising up a child and sending her off to college, and she's on the dean's list.

New blogging coming soon.

2007-01-20T06:37:00.000-08:00

Peacethings for sale! $1000 buys the whole shebang. Domain, store, merchandise, and all of the good work that went into creating a valuable online presence. #1 w/ search engines for "peace clothing", "peace caps" "peace sign clothing" and great potential for the right owner.

Meantime, everything is on sale at peacethings.com.

Send Holiday Love and Support to Deployed Troops

2006-11-09T11:52:00.000-08:00

Use the links below as resources for sending holiday cheer to those who won't be able to be home for the holidays. Let us know what you did by posting a comment here.

http://www.operationac.com
Frankie Mayo (no relation) started out sending air
conditioners to troops in Iraq, and her program has grown
into an elegant system for adopting soldiers.

FREE STUFF!

Many of these links are for deployed soldiers and families. These links have been run through ACS, JAG and MWR, and all appear legit. If you adopt a soldier make sure he or she knows about these links.

http://www.operationhomelink.org - Free computers for spouses or parents of deployed soldier in ranks E1 - E5.

https://www.operationuplink.org - Free phone cards.

http://anysoldier.com/ForSoldiersOnly.cfm - To sign up for sponsoring soldier care packages for theater.

http://www.operationshoebox.com - free shoebox care package.

http://www.treatthetroops.org -free cookies.

http://bluestarmoms.org/airfare.html - lowest airfare available.

http://bluestarmoms.org/care.html - free care packages.

http://www.heromiles.org - free air travel for Emergency Leave, and for the family members of injured soldiers to travel to Medical facility.

http://www.bluestarmothers.org/airlinespecials.php - Airline discounts for R & R.

http://www.booksforsoldiers.com/forum/index.php - free books, DVD's, CD's.

http://www.militarymoms.net/sot.html free care packages (your family member signs up to have sent to you).

http://operationmilitarypride.org/smsignup.html - free care packages.

http://www.soldiersangels.org/heroes/submit_a_soldier.php - get adopted to receive stuff.

https://www.treatsfortroops.com/registration/index.php - free gifts and care packages.

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Nov2004/n11232004_2004112312 - free shipping/packing materials for shipping to troops.

My Soldier is Home!

2006-09-10T11:11:00.001-07:00

So, it's been nearly a year since my daughter was deployed to Iraq. And yesterday she returned safely home to Ft. Hood, TX. But the army won't tell her what her next company will be. One returns to Iraq in 6 months; the others, not for two years. Is that any way to treat someone who has just served so well?

2006-09-10T11:11:00.000-07:00

Three Years

2006-03-18T11:50:00.000-08:00

Plymouth Peace Vigil, March 18, 2006
Three years have passed since the war began; three years too many.
If you haven't yet, join the Peace Alliance and start making a difference in the way our government works.

Deployment ain't funny

2006-01-17T09:36:00.000-08:00

This from Military Families Speak Out for Peace.

Below is an article that appeared this morning in USA Today -- titled "Pentagon to families: Go ahead, laugh" -- about a Pentagon training program for National Guard families. It was sent to us by a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War -- an outraged Massachusetts National Guard soldier recently returned from Iraq, whose wife and two children are long-time members of MFSO. The article says that the Pentagon thinks the appropriate response of National Guard families to the stress of the war in Iraq is to walk like penguins, waddling and flapping our hands like fins --and tells about the Pentagon's training program to help families learn to do this.

If you would like to write a response to this article in the form of a Letter to the Editor, you can email it to: editor@usatoday.com or fax it to 703-854-2053. USA Today states that Letters to the Editor have a greater chance of being printed if they are 250 words or less. If you do send a letter, please email a copy to Military Families Speak Out at mfso@mfso.org Thank you.

We believe that "When the stress of the war in Iraq becomes too severe" (a direct quote from the article below) -- we need to come together -- in our communities and across the country -- support each other through all we are going through, and raise the demand louder and stronger than ever: "Bring 'em home now, and take care of them when they get here!"

In Peace and Solidarity, and not laughing here,
Nancy Lessin and Charley Richardson
for Military Families Speak Out
www.mfso.org
www.bringthemhomenow.org

Pentagon to families: Go ahead, laugh
By Gregg Zoroya, USA TODAY January 13, 2006

When the stress of the war in Iraq becomes too severe, the Pentagon has a suggestion for military families: Learn how to laugh.

With help from the Pentagon's chief laughter instructor, families of National Guard members are learning to walk like a penguin, laugh like a lion and blurt "ha, ha, hee, hee and ho, ho."

No joke.

"I laugh every chance I get," says the instructor, retired Army colonel James "Scotty" Scott. "That's why I'm blessed to be at the Pentagon, where we definitely need a lot of laughter in our lives."

Scott, 57, is certified as a laughter training specialist by the Ohio-based World Laughter Tour, a group that promotes mirth as medicine. It touts scientific research that suggests chuckling can boost the body's immune system and decrease stress hormones.

A Pentagon spokeswoman, Lt. Col. Ellen Krenke, says the Pentagon is committed to the program and values Scott's skills. "We sent him to the training," she says.

The laughter program was Scott's idea. It costs the military virtually nothing, because Scott already travels to states as a director of military family support policy.
KEEPING THEM IN STITCHES
Ways military families are being taught to laugh:

Penguin exercise: Waddle and flap hands as though they're fins.

Lion laugh: Open eyes and mouth wide while repeating "ha ha's."

Repeat "ho, ho, ha, ha, ha," while clapping on each sound.

He has taught National Guard family group leaders in Alaska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Idaho, and will do so in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Florida, he says. Another laughter trainer is working with folks in North Carolina.

"We believe our program prevents hardening of the attitudes," says Scott, in one of his wordplay aphorisms that beg for a rimshot. The founder and chief executive of the World Laughter Tour is psychologist Steve Wilson, who calls himself "Cheerman of the Bored."

"The guiding principle is to laugh for no reason. And that's one of the reasons it works so well for military families," Scott says. "There's a lot they have to be stressed over, a lot of worries, a lot of concerns."

As foolish as students might feel, Scott says he's lost only one participant: a Marine sergeant major who, Scott says, fled the room with a bad case of the giggles.

Mary Frances Booth, the wife of a retired soldier, took the class last year and is an ardent devotee.

She and her two daughters — Meaghan, 10 and Sarah, 8 — were sobbing after Booth dropped her husband at the Boise airport Sunday; he was headed for Afghanistan for work as a civilian contractor, she says. Then Booth called for one of the laughing drills.

"They rolled their eyes at me and thought, 'Mom's on her laughing thing again,' " Booth says. "(But) it made it a little bit better."

MLK and Namaste

2006-01-16T07:02:00.000-08:00

A few prime quotes. If you haven't seen the HBO documentary about Rosa Parks, I recommend it. It amazes me that I have lived in a time where black people in the south were not allowed an education. I am even more amazed to see that our country is more intent on forcing "democracy" on other countries when our corpocracy refuses to use its resources to educate its own people. Having studied Civil Rights in college it always irks me when people speak of the welfare state in our country, like it's a political party thing. The fact is, when we see uneducated, dependent people such as Katrina's victims, unable to fend for themselves, it's a direct result of the slave culture, and has nothing to do with democrats or republicans. Fact is, the economy depended upon keeping the labor force down south uneduated and dependent when slavery was abolished. That legacy still haunts us today. All we need to do is make education of ALL people top priority, and they'll be able to take care of themselves.

Okay, so here are a few choice quotes for this day.

That's all nonviolence is - organized love. (Joan Baez )

Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal. (Martin Luther King, Jr.)

I destroy my enemies when I make them my friends. (Abraham Lincoln)

In India when we meet and part we often say, "Namaste," which means: I honor the place in you where the entire universe resides; I honor the place in you where the entire universe resides; I honor the place in you of love, of light, of truth, of peace. I honor the place within you where if you are in that place in you and I am in that place in me, there is only one of us�.. "Namaste." (Ram Dass)

Namaste to you!

2006-01-13T10:53:00.000-08:00

So busy with the holidays for soldiers and all, I haven't had a chance to write here or update peacethings. A report on our efforts is coming soon. Stay tuned.

Meantime, I continue to attend the weekly silent vigil, display my flag, keep my candle burning...
Visit the vigil blog here: Plymout Vigil

Sponsor a Soldier for the Holidays - PeaceThings Newsletter #6

2005-11-02T05:53:00.000-08:00

PeaceMatters Newsletter - November, 2005

It's that time of year again - Gifts & Cookies for Soldiers

Many young people won't be home for the holidays, so PeaceThings will be helping to send holiday joy to them. My daughter, CPT Phoebe Price will be at Al Taji Military Base in Iraq for the next year, and she will provide us with the names, addresses and wish lists of up to 400 soldiers who would love to receive holiday treats from home.
This is our fourth year doing this, and it’s been a great success. Each sponsor sends gifts, cards and baked goods to one or more soldiers. We encourage individuals, classrooms, families, groups, and organizations to sponsor soldiers. We will provide you with addresses, deadlines, mailing instructions, and gift suggestions. If you would like to share some holiday cheer with those unable to be home, please email soldiers@peacethings.com and let us know how many soldiers you will sponsor.

Holiday Shopping at PEACETHINGS

Peace Baby! Natural organic all cotton baby stuff, embroidered here at PeaceThings for your peace baby. Makes a great gift!

Peace Caps - All cotton, six panel baseball caps with a soft, low-fitting crown and adjustable strap. Embroidered with a bold peace symbol front and center.

Books for Peace - Help support PeaceThings; buy books at Amazon through PeaceThings' portal.

Featured Links:

WAND - Women's Action for New Directions empowers women to act politically to reduce violence and militarism, and redirect excessive military resources toward unmet human and environmental needs.

Peace Action - Ordinary people changing the world

Department of Peace - Participate in an historic citizen lobbying effort to create a U.S. Department of Peace.

Our friends at www.Muzility.com are offering soldiers and their families/friends an opportunity to share experiences through video on the Internet. It's a service similar to those online photo services, but video. Muzility will take videos up to an hour long and post them on their website for $4.95 each month for up to 4 months and $10 a month thereafter. Access to the video is controlled by the person who submits it, and the video is accessed by means of a unique address that they can make available to whomever they want. To take advantage of this offer, go to www.Muzility.com and when you submit your video note that you want to take advantage of the Special Peacethings discount. A nice way to keep in touch.

If you are happy to receive this newsletter, please pass it on to your friends. Pardon double mailings to those who are both customers and sponsors. Be assured that we respect your privacy and would never share our list with others.

If this has reached you by mistake, please respond to this email with NO in the subject line and your address will be removed. Please send questions or comments about PeaceMatters to info@peacethings.com.

Thanks, and Happy, Peaceful Holidays!

Heidi Mayo, PeaceThings owner

the little vigil has big impact

2005-10-06T05:00:00.000-07:00

Last night I attended our little vigil in Plymouth center, and across the street there was a small but raucous group of "counter protesters" with "Honk if you Support the Troops" and "USA USA USA" on their signs. The funniest thing about all of this is that we agree with them, we support the troops - they are our national treasure. We send them gifts at Christmastime, and we do everything we can to support them. It's their boss we don't agree with. It was hard to hold silence when this mother yelled that her son was in Iraq. The discussion would go like this, "You want peace, don't you? Doesn't everyone?" On this we can all agree.

moral values

2005-10-04T04:33:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Phoebe took off to Iraq from Kuwait. It's a mother's nightmare. Even though I do not subscribe to religion at all, this essay is truly from the heart, and it touches on the hypocrisy that we all find so frustrating about this administration.

What Are Moral Values?
by Rev. Dr. Robin Meyers
Mayflower Church, Oklahoma City
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As some of you know, I am minister of Mayflower Congregational Church in Oklahoma City, a church in northwest Oklahoma City, and professor of Rhetoric at Oklahoma City University. But you would most likely have encountered me on the pages of the Oklahoma Gazette, where I have been a columnist for six years, and hold the record for the most number of angry letters to the editor. Tonight, I join ranks of those who are angry, because I have watched as the faith I love has been taken over by those who claim to speak for Jesus, but whose actions are anything but Christian.

We've heard a lot lately about so-called "moral values" as having swung the election to President Bush. Well, I'm a great believer in moral values, but we need to have a discussion, all over this country, about exactly what constitutes a moral value -- I mean what are we talking about? Because we don't get to make them up as we go along, especially not if we are people of faith. We have an inherited tradition of what is right and wrong, and moral is as moral does. Let me give you just a few of the reasons why I take issue with those in power who claim moral values are on their side:

When you start a war on false pretenses, and then act as if your deceptions are justified because you are doing God's will, and that your critics are either unpatriotic or lacking in faith, there are some of us who have given our lives to teaching and preaching the faith who believe that this is not only not moral, but immoral.

When you live in a country that has established international rules for waging a just war, build the United Nations on your own soil to enforce them, and then arrogantly break the very rules you set down for the rest of the world, you are doing something immoral.

When you claim that Jesus is the Lord of your life, and yet fail to acknowledge that your policies ignore his essential teaching, or turn them on their head (you know, Sermon on the Mount stuff like that we must never return violence for violence and that those who live by the sword will die by the sword), you are doing something immoral.

When you act as if the lives of Iraqi civilians are not as important as the lives of American soldiers, and refuse to even count them, you are doing something immoral.

When you find a way to avoid combat in Vietnam, and then question the patriotism of someone who volunteered to fight, and came home a hero, you are doing something immoral.

When you ignore the fundamental teachings of the gospel, which says that the way the strong treat the weak is the ultimate ethical test, by giving tax breaks to the wealthiest among us so the strong will get stronger and the weak will get weaker, you are doing something immoral.

When you wink at the torture of prisoners, and deprive so-called "enemy combatants" of the rules of the Geneva Conventions, which your own country helped to establish and insists that other countries follow, you are doing something immoral.

When you claim that the world can be divided up into the good guys and the evil doers, slice up your own nation into those who are with you, or with the terrorists -- and then launch a war which enriches your own friends and seizes control of the oil to which we are addicted, instead of helping us to kick the habit, you are doing something immoral.

When you fail to veto a single spending bill, but ask us to pay for a war with no exit strategy and no end in sight, creating an enormous deficit that hangs like a great millstone around the necks of our children, you are doing something immoral.

When you cause most of the rest of the world to hate a country that was once the most loved country in the world, and act like it doesn't matter what others think of us, only what God thinks of you, you have done something immoral.

When you use hatred of homosexuals as a wedge issue to turn out record numbers of evangelical voters, and use the Constitution as a tool of discrimination, you are doing something immoral.

When you favor the death penalty, and yet claim to be a follower of Jesus, who said an eye for an eye was the old way, not the way of the kingdom, you are doing something immoral.

When you dismantle countless environmental laws designed to protect the earth which is God's gift to us all, so that the corporations that bought you and paid for your favors will make higher profits while our children breathe dirty air and live in a toxic world, you have done something immoral. The earth belongs to the Lord, not Halliburton.

When you claim that our God is bigger than their God, and that our killing is righteous, while theirs is evil, we have begun to resemble the enemy we claim to be fighting, and that is immoral. We have met the enemy, and the enemy is us.

When you tell people that you intend to run and govern as a "compassionate conservative," using the word which is the essence of all religious faith -- compassion, and then show no compassion for anyone who disagrees with you, and no patience with those who cry to you for help, you are doing something immoral.

When you talk about Jesus constantly, who was a healer of the sick, but do nothing to make sure that anyone who is sick can go to see a doctor, even if she doesn't have a penny in her pocket, you are doing something immoral.

When you put judges on the bench who are racist, and will set women back a hundred years, and when you surround yourself with preachers who say gays ought to be killed, you are doing something immoral.

I'm tired of people thinking that because I'm a Christian, I must be a supporter of President Bush, or that because I favor civil rights and gay rights I must not be a person of faith. I'm tired of people saying that I can't support the troops but oppose the war.

I heard that when I was your age, when the Vietnam war was raging. We knew that that war was wrong, and you know that this war is wrong -- the only question is how many people are going to die before these make-believe Christians are removed from power?

This country is bankrupt. The war is morally bankrupt. The claim of this administration to be Christian is bankrupt. And the only people who can turn things around are people like you--young people who are just beginning to wake up to what is happening to them. It's your country to take back. It's your faith to take back. It's your future to take back.

Don't be afraid to speak out. Don't back down when your friends begin to tell you that the cause is righteous and that the flag should be wrapped around the cross, while the rest of us keep our mouths shut. Real Christians take chances for peace. So do real Jews, and real Muslims, and real Hindus, and real Buddhists--so do all the faith traditions of the world at their heart believe one thing: life is precious. Every human being is precious. Arrogance is the opposite of faith. Greed is the opposite of charity. And believing that one has never made a mistake is the mark of a deluded man, not a man of faith. And war -- war is the greatest failure of the human race -- and thus the greatest failure of faith.

There's an old rock and roll song, whose lyrics say it all: War, what is it good for? absolutely nothing. And what is the dream of the prophets? That we should study war no more, that we should beat our swords into plowshares and our spears into pruning hooks. Who would Jesus bomb, indeed?

How many wars does it take to know that too many people have died? What if they gave a war and nobody came? Maybe one day we will find out.

Time to march again my friends. Time to commit acts of civil disobedience. Time to sing, and to pray, and refuse to participate in the madness.
http://www.mayflowerucc.org/

Another baby step

2005-09-23T10:32:00.000-07:00

Today I listed the Plymouth Peace Vigil with United for Peace & Justice, so anyone looking of a local vigil will find us. I also sold some peacethings and gave away more buttons.

harvest festival

2005-09-23T05:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I sold Peace Things at the Plymouth Farmers' Market Harvest festival. I gave away a lot of peace buttons. I signed a petition to restore our national guard to the homeland. Sheesh. This, when Jim's frined Billy who is 53 years old is getting sent to Iraq w/ the guard. Fifty-three! And meanwhile Mother Nature is screaming with hurricanes, saying, Get back here and take care of your own!

the vigil

2005-09-22T10:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I made a sign to carry and incorporated the flag below - Military Families speak out for PEACE. I joined our little vigil in Plymouth Center last night with my candle and sign. I gave each attendee a peace button.

Today I am having a Peace Things tent at the Plymouth Farmer's Market's Harvest Folk festival.

or maybe like this

2005-09-21T04:43:00.000-07:00

flag flying

2005-09-20T05:37:00.000-07:00

I ordered a blue star banner to which I will applique a peace symbol. It will look something like this:

peace of mind

2005-09-18T11:48:00.000-07:00

Today I took a run, and meditated while stretching, acknowledging the peace on the beach - the soft, lapping waves, the gentle breeze, the earth beneath my feet, the white white clouds in the blue sunny sky, and this is my mantra: May Peace Prevail on this Planet, and let me be an instrument of that peace.

I also gave a way a bunch of peace buttons.

Baby Steps To Peace

2005-09-17T13:36:00.000-07:00

As Cpt. Phoebe heads to Kuwait tomorrow on her way to Al-Taji airbase a mere 20 miles from Baghdad, I have decided that, to honor her, I will take one small action every day to help create a culture of peace. I'll be using this blog to log my actions.

Today I wrote a letter to Rep Delahunt in support of creating a US Department of Peace. This is what I said:
I urge you to support the establishment of a United States Department of Peace. We need a Secretary of Peace in the President's cabinet. As my daughter, Cpt. Phoebe Price heads for Kuwait on her way to Al-Taji airbase tomorrow as forward support for the 4th Infantry, I am knowing that this war did not need to happen. A Department of Peace can shift the paradigm of our government, and as Hurricane Katrina showed, keep us safer and stronger here at home. Please support this effort, and help America start to build a culture of peace.
(signature)

You can write your congress people, too. Go here: http://www.thepeacealliance.org/main.htm or just write in support of Bill #HR 3760, or call them up. You can find their contact info here: http://www.house.gov/writerep/

Moms for Peace

2005-08-18T08:54:00.000-07:00

Cindy still sits. Bush still vacations.

Thousands of activists all over the country participated in vigils last night in support of Cindy.
She has invited the president to join her to pray for the troops tomiorrow at noon. I wonder if he'll show, since it might be bad PR if he doesn't join her.

http://www.meetwithcindy.org/

Write to Laura Bush
Today, women who have been sitting with Cindy Sheehan will be writing and attempting to hand-deliver letters to Laura Bush. As part of a woman-to-woman, mother-to-mother appeal, Cindy's supporters will ask the First Lady to urge her husband to take time from his vacation to answer the questions of a grieving mother. Cindy's supporters, led by her sister Dede Miller, will then conduct a three-mile march from Camp Casey to the gate of George Bush's ranch. Join them by writing a letter to Laura Bush that will be delivered by the marchers.

Cindy Sheehan

2005-08-11T06:28:00.000-07:00

Cindy Sheehan sits outside Bush's ranch while he vacations. She's waiting for answers. On April 4th last year, her son Casey died in Iraq. Cindy says that she won't leave until President Bush meets with her to discuss the war. She may be sitting there for a long time. I may have to join her. I always wonder what Bush would have done if his daughters were in the miltary; maybe history would have been different.

Cindy needs your support. Here are a few links to learn more and help support families who have lost loved ones to this stupid war.

Gold Star Families for Peace: http://www.gsfp.org/

MoveOn: http://political.moveon.org/meetwithcindy

Join Diane Wilson's fast along with Code Pink: http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/codepink/signUp.jsp?key=530

Military Families for Peace: http://www.mfso.org/

Get Utne Magazine at half price!

2005-07-01T05:39:00.000-07:00

I am pleased to announce
that PeaceThings has become an Utne affiliate. If you
are not familiar with Utne Reader, this is your chance to
subscribe at half-price! I've been reading Utne
Reader for about 20 years now, and describe it as the Smart
Readers' Digest of Alternative Media.

Department of Peace Conference

2005-06-29T14:03:00.000-07:00

Make sense. Make peace. Make history. Start building a culture of peace.
Department of Peace Conference in Washington, D.C. Sept 10-13th, 2005
http://www.thepeacealliance.org/events/sept_conf_05.htm
Lots of great speakers including Walter Cronkite and Dennis Kucinich!

Impeach Bush

2005-06-01T09:09:00.000-07:00

I usually try to keep my peace business non-political, but Bush has just gone too far.

My daughter was in Afghanistan when my country attacked Iraq. That's why I started PeaceThings - so I could turn my despairing energy into something productive. Now, my beautiful daughter is headed for Iraq in September. Knowing how this administration lied to get this war underway, how our budget resources have been plundered, how our true security is being ignored; just how wrong this focus is, I offer you resources to get the impeacment ball rolling. Heck, all Clinton did was tell a little lie about a blowjob. Bush has told huge lies that have cost the lives of many people, not just soldiers, men, women and children who just happened to be in Iraq doing their jobs and living their lives. And then there's that religious business. I'd have him impeached on that count alone. The fact that he's trying to get our constitution amended so that gay people aren't considered equal and not allowed to enjoy the same rights as straight couples. And then there's that business of checks and balances he's trying to relieve the administraion of having to participate in - nuclear option, eh? The reasons are too many to list here. So, go to these sites and sign on to impeach the jerk who would have my daughter killed like a pawn in his stupid game of Gimme.

http://www.votetoimpeach.org/
http://www.impeachbush.tv/
http://www.impeach-bush-now.org/
http://www.petitiononline.com/ddc12/petition.html
http://zzpat.tripod.com/cvb/
http://www.counterpunch.org/boyle01172003.html
impeach bush

The Way It Is

2005-05-17T05:04:00.000-07:00

The Democrats' mistake was in thinking that a disastrous war, national
bankruptcy, erosion of liberties, corporate takeover of government,
environmental destruction, squandering our economic and moral
leadership in the world, and systematic Administration lying would be of concern to the electorate.

The Republicans correctly saw that the chief concern of the electorate
was to keep gay couples from having an abortion.