A day of celebration, party and networking with all the nuts, freaks, peaceniks, tree huggers, activist, hippies, rockers, woodstockers, generation X’ers, Y’ers, Z’ers, scenesters, vegeterians, animal lovers, meat lovers, people lovers, peace lovers, earth lovers, rebel rockers, zen marxist, budhist, christians, jews and muslims too.
War resister Sgt. Travis Bishop flashes peace sign to supporters as he is taken to the Bell County (Texas) Correctional Unit after being sentenced to one year in prison at court martial on August 14, 2009. Photo by Eric Thompson.
Afghanistan War refuser: Ft. Hood’s Travis Bishop gets reduced sentence
By Alice Embree / The Rag Blog / February 10, 2010
Sgt. Travis Bishop has learned that the 12-month sentence he is serving at Fort Lewis will be reduced by three months. Sgt. Bishop was sentenced at Fort Hood near Killeen, Texas, in August 2009 for refusing orders to deploy to Afghanistan.
Sgt. Bishop, a Kentucky native and country singer, enlisted in 2004. He was deployed to Korea and then to Iraq. He had served five years of active duty when he refused orders based on religious reasons.
One of the people testifying against Bishop at his court martial was the chaplain he had hoped would listen to his concerns. Instead, Lt. Col. Ronald Leininger had reduced the amount of time scheduled for their original interview and then repeatedly took phone calls during the session. In his official statement, the chaplain said that people with Bishop’s religious heritage were “generally pro-military service with no pacifist tendencies in doctrine or practice.”
Lt. General Robert Cone, commanding general of Fort Hood approved the sentence reduction on February 4, after considering Sgt. Bishop’s clemency application. The clemency request included a legal brief alleging problems in the processing of Bishop’s conscientious objector claim, problems with the trial proceedings, and mistreatment at Fort Lewis where Sgt. Bishop has been detained.
In large part, the reduction in sentence is due to the dogged perseverance of GI rights attorney James Branum, and the public pressure that was brought to bear. Sgt. Bishop’s clemency request included 433 letters (signed by a total of 538 people from 21 different countries). Many came from pastors who disagreed with the military chaplain’s view on their churchs’ support for conscientious objection.
Through his attorney, Sgt. Bishop relayed his thanks to all his supporters. He said he had no regrets and urged others who are feeling moral conflicts with war to follow their conscience, but not to wait as long as he did to get help.
Attorney James Branum released the news of Sgt. Bishop’s early release and ackowledged many supporters, including the GI coffeehouses, Under the Hood in Killeen and Coffee Strong near Fort Lewis in Washington, Amnesty International’s London office and Courage to Resist. Sgt. Bishop’s release is expected to be no later than March 31, based on the amount of good behavior credit he has earned.
Million Musicians March for Peace, Liberty, Justice, and Truth
Saturday, March 20, 2010, Noon – 4 pm, Austin, TX
Noon-2, Texas State Capitol: Musical Rally On The Grounds; 2-2:30, March and Play Through Downtown Austin; 2:30-4:00, City Hall: Musical Rally for Citizen Action
Activists and onlookers at an antiwar demonstration braved harsh weather Wednesday at the LBJ Amphitheatre — two weeks after the event rescheduled because of rain.
The rally, Escalate the Peace, included students, teachers, activists, veterans, reverends and poets. Speeches ranged from anti-capitalist sentiments to the conflict in Palestine. Two newly-formed organizations, the Campus Antiwar Movement to End Occupations and the Progressive Bobcats Union co-sponsored the event.
“In the Bible it says they asked Jesus what the most important commandment was,” said John Marion, anti-war activist. “You know how you hear about the Ten Commandments — thou shall not kill, honor thy father and thy mother? But he said the most important commandment is love — love your neighbors as thyself. Love your enemies and forgive those who persecute you.”
Marion said the message comes from stories of his brother and friends who have been affected by war.
“One of my friends from New Mexico was in the infantry in Iraq,” Marion said. “He said the biggest problem he had when he came back was how quiet it was. He got used to the sounds of bombs, mortars and guns, and when there were no explosions, he was scared the most.”
Marion said his friend came back changed.
“Now he comes home, and he’s screwed up,” Marion said. “He doesn’t know what he wants to do with his life. He doesn’t know what his life means anymore.”
Bobby Whittenberg, veteran and former Texas State student, shared similar stories of the return to civilian life.
“There’s a lot of issues you have after coming back like dealing with the death of friends and feeling betrayed by the military,” said Whittenberg, who was awarded a Purple Heart. “After I got injured, they started saying I was a coward because I couldn’t keep up with the physical training.”
Whittenberg said the cost of war is more than money.
“The cost of war so far is over a million people who we have attacked who are dead,” Whittenberg said. “There are over 5,000 American troops who are dead and those who come back wounded have to fight to receive the healthcare we deserve — the mental healthcare we deserve…Eighteen veterans kill themselves every day. That’s not a result of a healthy society. That’s not a result of integrating people back — that’s absolute neglect.”
Leslie Moya, education senior, stood in the pouring sleet to listen to the talk about middle-eastern conflicts.
“I understand where the whole Palestine issue is coming from — I’m Jewish,” Moya said. “I think (the speaker) was a little one sided. I don’t know if he’s Palestinian or what the deal is but I think there is a lot more that goes into it. Not everything is black and white. He tried to make Israel the bad people, but Palestine hasn’t done everything right.”
Luke Stewart, electronic engineering sophomore, watched from a distance out of the downfall. He is worried about his cousin in the Navy who is about to deploy to Afghanistan.
“I think what they are saying is true, but I think that we’re kind of running in circles right now,” Stewart said. “It seems like it’s getting worse. A lot of these kids join the military so they can get the financial benefit so they can maybe go to college after they’re done but how much is your life worth? It’s crazy.”
Elizabeth Welch, literature graduate student and CAMEO president, said the recent escalation of troops in Afghanistan helped inspire the timing of the event.
“The Democrats have majorities in both houses and we have a president that is a Democrat but where are we at?” Welch asked. “We have a spending freeze not on war, but programs that help people.”
Welch said the event went well despite the weather.
“It’s always really encouraging to see a crowd, no matter how small, come out in these conditions,” Welch said. “It starts small, everything does. The bad weather is kind of inspiring — you see people with rain pellets hitting their heads and it shows how much they care.”
Texas State University: Outside the Student Center
“In the great tradition of student protest, we will come together on Jan. 28 on Texas State’s campus to speak out against the criminal military actions of the United States government. With the recent escalation of the war in Afghanistan, the expansion into Pakistan and Yemen, and the continued occupation of Iraq, it is time to hold our leaders accountable. This day marks an opportunity to come together to discuss, to network, and to celebrate peace and resistance. As students, teachers, peace veterans, and musicians, we will make our voices heard against war. Not in our name!”
Everyone is welcome. Spread the word.
Hosted by CAMEO (Campus Anti-war Movement to End the Occupations) [email protected]
![[travis+bishop+peace+sign.jpg]](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_HyyDHyAwI6k/S3ND9ZZmTTI/AAAAAAAAIFU/_e6qF48TivE/s1600/travis%2Bbishop%2Bpeace%2Bsign.jpg)
