Progressive Democrat Issue 39: NATIONAL ACTION WITH MAINSTREET MOMS

From Mainstreet Moms Operation Blue:

UPDATE:
PLAN A SCHOOL BOARD OUTING &
OPT OUT TOOL FOR PENTAGON RECRUITING DATABASE

YELLOW RIBBON SHIFT; MOTORCADES & MOTHERS; DVD
There's a momentum shift happening in America's yellow-ribbon attitudes toward the occupation of Iraq. Footage of Bush's gleaming black motorcade sliding right past mother Cindy Sheehan and her makeshift camp in Crawford fuels that shift. As do tales of aggressive military recruitment and targeting in the high schools under No Child Left Behind. (We interview Cindy on "Leave My Child Alone: The DVD" which is available free to anyone for their Opt Out events, tiny or otherwise.)

PENTAGON OPT OUT TOOL
MMOB, working with Working Assets and DFA, is accelerating that opinion shift toward tangible action through Leave My Child Alone. With an automated tool for opting out of both the No Child Left Behind military recruiter lists AND the Pentagon's irksome database, LeaveMyChildAlone.org is an easy resource to spread. And if we can commit more new folks against the war through the simple action of Opt Out, we might just have a mainstream anti-war movement on our hands. And in our schools.

GIVE AN EVENING IN SEPTEMBER?
This battle is happening primarily at school board meetings in September. If you can fit just one evening in for your local school board meeting, please email Josh at jsonnenfeld@workingassets.com or call 415-369-2112. If you're ready to go, just register your meeting at www.partylaunch.com/workingassets. Otherwise, take action in your own circles - have a DVD viewing party and hand out Opt Out forms and info; ask your reading group to give you 20 minutes; show it at a school assembly; bring it to your Dem club get togethers, whatever works. Please do post your event (private or public) so we know to send you the film. If web posting is a pain for you, just call or email Josh.

DAMNING STATS
Here are some quick stats to put your ire to work:

* "Army proposes..$1 billion advertising contract -- government's largest ever." Ad Age Magazine
* "Overall military recruiting budget reaches $4 billion. Access to high schools slows down the escalating costs of military recruiting." PBS NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
* "Parents are the biggest hurdle we face." Ohio Recruiter, New York Times
* "High schools are the recruiter's life blood." Jim Massey, former recruiter and Gulf War Veteran, Leave My Child Alone DVD
* "In an effort to stem continued recruiting shortfall...Army wants to double the top cash bonus to $40,000 for new recruits" USA Today
* Recruits receive "offers of more than $70,000 in college aid" Fox News
* "Only 8% of these troops receive the full benefit." Chronicle of Higher Education
* "57% of the veterans who apply for the Montgomery GI Bill...have never seen a penny in college assistance" Peacework Editor Sam Diener
* "30% of U.S. troops surveyed have developed stress-related mental health problems" USA Today
* "An estimated 500,000 veterans were homeless at some point in 2004" UPI
* 11,000 kids have "opted out" so far.

So can you rally together a friend or two and go to your local school board meeting, or have an LMCA film party, or take Opt Out forms to the farmer's market? Anything to help more districts handle Opt Out right, and help more parents know how to Opt Out.

Here’s what we moms can do - put 15 minutes on the timer and if takes longer than that, email your stress level to megan@themmob.org.

* Go to www.partylaunch.com/workingassets, click ‘Find’ and search for your local school board meeting. If you find it, click the ‘RSVP’ button and we’ll contact you about hosting.
* If you can’t find your local school board meeting in the tool, go to your school district’s website (or call them on the phone) to find the next meeting, and post time and location. You may be contacted by other MMOB moms or LMCA participants about joining you on this outing.

You'll find a great resources to help you plan (leaflets, sample resolutions, opt-out forms, etc.) as part of our Adopt-A-School-Board kit.

SCHOOL BOARD MEETING OUTINGS: POST & HOST
Once again, If you can be a school board outing host, or would like to volunteer in any way, please contact Josh at jsonnenfeld@workingassets.com or 415-369-2112. If you're ready to go, just register your meeting.

HONOR ROLL?
If you are in a great district already, you can nominate them for the School Board Honor Roll by emailing HonorRoll@workingassets.com.

Meanwhile, several of us may be getting on the phone to check in personally to see if you're up for any action next month. Hope you don't mind

Best to everyone

Megan and the others at the MMOB