with their message that Peace Is
Possible. Also among the riders
were chapter member Ahmed Selim,
FiLMS for World Peace Producer/
Director, and several other members
who also participated in DC events,
including VFP Lobby Days and
Breaking Through Power.
ed. We continue our work finding
housing for homeless vets in the
East Bay.
We demonstrated on behalf of
the Richmond Progressive Alliance
about the police shooting of Richard ―Pedie‖ Perez. The unprovoked killing of Pedie has been a
regular protest action for us. Some
of our members attended the 10th
Annual raising of the Peace
Flag in Berkeley. Chapter 162
is working closely with Chapter
69 in planning our upcoming
Annual VFP Convention in August. Hope to see many of you
here for that; it will be amazing!
Chapter 168 - Louisville, KY
Sam’s Ride arrives in D.C.
Chapters 161 - Iowa City, IA
John Ivens
Our main activity during the last
quarter was an Iowa speaking tour
by Ann Wright and Kathy Kelly from
May 1 to May 6. Along with VFP
chapters 163, 169 and other peace
groups in Iowa, we sponsored
speaking events in Coralville, Dubuque, Cedar Rapids, the Quad Cities,
Iowa City and Des Moines. The
theme of the tour was ―War and Refugees: Peace is Possible.‖ Much of
our discussion related to the overcoming of Islamophobia.
Chapter 162 - East Bay, CA
Cathe Norman
We continue to support the Crosses of Lafayette. Every month there
is a maintenance work party. One of
our members reads his poetry at the
bi-annual vigils, on Memorial Day
and Armistice Day. We attended
Berkeley City Council Meetings to
protest the militarism of the Berkeley
police department and to protest the
use of drones in Berkeley.
We collected clothing and toiletries
to send to the homeless and deported vets in Tijuana, Mexico. Our collection was a total of 15 large bags.
More items will be collected as need18
VFP Newsletter Summer
Carol Rawert-Trainer
Busy month! In March we were
honored to host activist Roy Bourgeois for dinner before a local
event he led. In April we phonebanked as part of the NPR
Fundraiser and our chapter
name was announced on 3
NPR stations periodically.
We received much media attention. On April 20 the Elizabethtown
News-Enterprise published Jim
Troy‘s letter ‖Consider Reasons
Behind U.S. Action.‖ On Earth Day
the Louisville Courier Journal published Carol‘s letter about the environmental cost of war. On the following Sunday Amanda Hillard
Beam, the new social justice writer
for the Courier Journal, published a
lengthy Op-Ed about 168 and