THE REAL STATE OF THE UNION
(On Tuesday, Jan. 23, President Bush will present his view of the State of the Union. We offer you
another view.)

The US is Engaged in an Illegal and Immoral Occupation of Iraq

• over 650,000 Iraqis have been killed, untold numbers injured or maimed
• over 3000 US forces have been killed, over 22,000 injured or maimed
• 135,000 US forces presently occupy Iraq, many serving multiple year-long tours
• President Bush has already begun sending an additional 21,000 troops to Iraq
• over $360 Billion in extraordinary war expenses to date
• $100 Billion being sought in the next month, a rate of $8.4 Billion a months for this year, the Pentagon says
• the war is being expanded to Iran and possibly Syria
• Iraq is devastated socially and economically, hunger and disease are rampant, violence is endemic
  

Afghanistan is Lost (says the international version of Newsweek, October 2, 2006)

• the US attacked Afghanistan despite the Taliban’s offer to turn Osama bin Laden over to an  independent court
• Afghanistan is now in a state of chaos: increased violence, lawlessness, Opium production, declining women’s rights, the Afghan government is nonexistent in most of the country
• over $100 Billion in extraordinary war expenses to date for Afghanistan
  

Torture and Violations of Human Rights are the Norm

• torture is a now legal under the Military Commissions Act of 2006
• the writ of Habeas Corpus is fundamentally compromised under the MCA of 2006. Habeas, which guarantees a person a hearing in an impartial court, has been a foundational principle of Western lawsince the 1200s.
• the CIA runs secret prisons in foreign countries where torture can be conducted
• so called, “illegal enemy combatants” have no recourse to the courts or safety from torture
• many in the US think torture is okay in some circumstances
  

"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies
in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who
are cold and not clothed." -- President Eisenhower

The Economy

• social programs have been cut nationally and in most local areas
• over 37 million persons live below the poverty level
• over 46 million persons do not have health insurance
• health care costs are out of control
• just the interest on our skyrocketing national debt is $760,000 every day
  

A two-tiered society has emerged in the US

• some persons reap huge incomes and benefits
• most persons live in poverty, slowly slide in that direction, or fear that eventuality
• Chief Executives now make 400 times that of the average worker
• tax cuts favor the rich and corporations
• at least one of every four hundred persons in the US is homeless
  

Corporate driven free-trade policies have led millions to immigrate
to the US where they are most often unwelcome, imprisoned, maligned

The election of President Bush in the past two presidential elections
are still questioned by many fair minded persons

The Bush administration has treated Global Warming as fiction, based
on false science

Hope is rising

• the people of the US rejected this war in the last election
• over 2/3 of the people in the US reject the war in Iraq
• most Iraqis want US forces out of Iraq
• more and more soldiers are refusing to serve in Iraq, even those who have been in Iraq for a year or more, despite being sentenced to prison
• more and more top military personnel agree that the occupation is unwinnable militarily
• rallies opposing the Iraq occupation occur frequently: planning is underway for rallies on  Jan. 27 in DC and worldwide on March 20, the fourth anniversary of the Iraq invasion
• efforts are under way to block further funding of the Iraq war. For example, beginning Feb. 2, the “Occupation Project” will occupy the offices of those in congress who do not promise to oppose further funding
• Illinois, California and some other states are initiating better health care programs, especially for children
  

For references substantiating the above facts, contact 8th Day Center (see info below)

SOME SUGGESTED ACTIONS
1. Participate in the Occupation Project. For more info, visit
http://www.vcnv.org/project/the-occupation-project
2. To learn more about the January 27 protest in DC, visit United for Peace and Justice at
http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=3468
3. To learn more about protests on March 20 in Chicago and elsewhere, contact  http://www.unitedforpeace.org/.
4. Download the peace leaflets at http://www.8thdaycenter.org/resources/leaflets.html for vigils in your
own area. Space is provided on the leaflets for local contact info.