Report from CodePink's Mother's Day 2006 Vigil in D.C. and Call forHunger Strike

Report from CodePink's Mother's Day 2006 Vigil in D.C. and Call for
Hunger Strike

This past weekend, CodePink transformed the park in front of the White
House. The lawn became a magical space filled with families reclaiming the
historical origin of Mother's Day as a time to work for Peace. Cindy
Sheehan, Susan Sarandon, Patch Adams, Dick Gregory and Iraqi and Iranian
women added their voices and talents to our 24-hour peace vigil.
For news coverage of Mother's Day 2006 Vigil in D.C., see:
http://www.codepinkalert.org//article.php?id=986

CodePink writes: "We literally put our bodies on the line to create a
beautiful aerial image spelling 'Mom Says NO WAR.'
( http://www.codepinkalert.org/article.php?id=984 )
We held teach-ins on Iraq, Iran, immigrant rights, Katrina and more. We
cried with moms who lost their children; we prayed with Native American
healers; we read letters to Laura Bush; we sang and danced and created a
powerful and compassionate community. At the close of the 24 hours, we tied
roses with names of the dead onto the White House fence, and as we chanted
"No More War, No More War", the rain that was predicted for both days
suddenly burst forth as if cleansing our nation's soul. You can see photos
at our virtual vigil at
http://www.codepinkalert.org/article.php?list=type&type=141 A dedicated
group of CodePink women took inspiration from the weekend and decided to
stay in D.C. for a month, taking action at Congress every day to demand an
end to war. Click on http://www.womensayenough.org/ to read more about their
action plans.

While the entire weekend was filled with magical moments, one stood out.
Comedian and civil rights leader Dick Gregory -- legendary for fasting
against the Vietnam War -- was in Cleveland en route to California when he
saw the CodePink vigil on CNN, and immediately changed planes to join us in
D.C. There he met environmentalist/author and CodePink cofounder Diane
Wilson, who earlier had called all of us to up our commitment and join her
in a hunger strike. The two of them joined together and called us to a
long-term fast to bring the troops home. Cindy Sheehan, CodePink members,
military families and Iraqi vets have already agreed to join.

On July 4, we will launch an historic hunger strike called TROOPS HOME FAST.
While many Americans will be expressing their patriotism via barbeques and
fireworks, we'll be fasting in memory of the dead and wounded, and calling
for our nation to be the democracy it was created to be, not an empire.

We're inviting people around the world to show their support for this
open-ended fast by committing to fast for one day -- July 4 -- plus as many
more days as you can handle.
Please sign up to join us at
http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/codepink/signUp.jsp?key=1289
and encourage your friends to do the same at
http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/codepink/tellafriend.jsp?tell_a_friend_KEY=816.
Together, we can bring our troops home."

Check out all the other ways you can join with CodePink this summer at
http://www.codepinkalert.org//article.php?list=type&type=124