This weekend I attended the West Point Military Academy conference entitled Ethics of War and Peace. Once again I publicly identified as the sole pacifist in a group of about 75 (mostly cadets). I shared my views with cadets and others, and heard their views. After much reflection and discussion with others, I decided to wear my “LOVE YOUR ENEMIES” shirt tor part of the conference and (more…)
Our action group occupied the potentially-explosive pipeline site at Sleighton Park on June 29. Members played ball and sang songs over the pipeline, returning the ground to its intended use as a public park. We want SAFE public parks and SAFE living space for all. We left peacefully when the state police arrived and threatened us with arrest if (more…)
The annual Ethics of War conference was held at Villanova in late March and I participated as usual. “As usual” means that in the Q&A of plenary sessions, I gave my unique (for the conference) pacifist position on the topic. I made a point of speaking with the West Point cadets who attended and 
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I was back in the classroom again as part of Villanova’s annual Freedom School. We (including three ROTC students) read and discussed how (quoting from my class description) “King’s ‘Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence’ – as Relevant Today as Ever’ 
challenges us through his linkage of “the giant triplets of racism, extreme materialism, and militarism.” Delivered exactly one year before his death, this speech is as timely today as it was then. As we consider what he said at Riverside, it may help us understand why at the time of his assassination King was the most hated man in America. Have we white-washed the real King in our public praise of him?” I offer a class annually, sometimes on this topic and sometimes on King and civil disobedience.
We’re much more than Quaker activists, so I’ll skip the latest news in that area and give other news about us. Fran and I are amateur mycologists and spent last Sunday (more…)
Fran and I participated (and were arrested) in the May 16 Demand the Ban (on the sale of assault weapons) nonviolent direct action outside Senator Toomey’s office in Philla. First an assault weapon was melted and re-forged into a garden tool, which we carried (more…)
Forty of us occupied PECO headquarters yesterday as part of an EQAT (Earth Quaker Action Team) campaign for solar energy and green jobs. After an hour of Quaker Meeting in their lobby, we left as planned when threatened with arrest.
Martin Luther King 2018 action at Lockheed Martin, the world’s largest nuclear weapons contractor and war profiteer. Chilly, but a warm spirit in the group. I do this in a spirit of faithfulness to peacemaking and modeling a civil disobedience that may become increasingly called upon should our world become increasingly chaotic.
Plenary session
This weekend I attended a three-day conference entitled Ethics of War and Peace, held at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. I’m feeling both exhausted and energized/empowered to have once again been the sole pacifist at this annual conference co-sponsored by Villanova University. (more…)
My published Comment on NYTimes article telling supposed liberal readers to ‘Stop Pretending You’re Not Rich‘: “I agree with others who are surprised at the resistance and animosity shown to this article. I think it’s the word “rich” that can drive NYTimes “liberals” into a frenzy. Readers complain about working 60 hours a week (good point, I’ve been there, must take responsibility for one’s life) and their debts and costs that eat away at an income of 200,000 or 300,000. So they claim they are really just middle class and not part of the economic problem. Ridiculous.
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