Evangelical's Viewpoint

"Hmm, who declared war on Al Qeuda? Well gee they did well before 9/11. Live and let live? Wow that's really manly of you. Is that your theory when Al Q forces You and the rest of western Civilization to live under Sharia / Islamic Law? Good luck with that one. They sure have you. That's there goal. To convince weak minded secularists to mind their own business. Obviously if you cared about anyone other that yourself you would start defending others like babies from being aborted, non Islamicists from get their heads chopped off by Islamo facists and oh protecting mothers from abortion who in all cases at some point dreadfully regret it."

This is a direct quote from a Facebook message that I recieved from Eric Whittington, the director of Rock for Life, an evangelical Christian organization against abortion in any circumstance.

Let's break this down..."Al Qeuda"? Wow, ok, I won't even go into that one, though tempting it is. But he says that the US declared war on Al Qaeda. I wasn't aware of this. I mean, it is common belief nowadays that Al Qaeda is a CIA created organization.

And I also have never been aware of Islamic soldiers invading my homeland in order to enforce their beliefs upon me. But wait. The US Army. The US Marine Corps. The US Navy. The US Air Force. The US Coast Guards. The CIA. The FBI. The DEA. These all can be considered terrorist forces. Just because the people claiming this fact aren't Americans, no one believes it. Americans can't be terrorists. We spread democracy and help people gain freedom they've never experienced. We BOMB 'em right into a new era of peace, love, and harmony. The fact that Eric Whittington doesn't have occupying troops knocking on his door everynight wanting to interrogate him due to his outspoken religious viewpoints explains why he can say these things with such a clear conscience.

And all women regret their decision to abort? Wow, Eric, how many babies have you given birth to? None?

I love religious fanatics that want to kill other religious fanatics. It just proves my point that religion is a way to control the weak minded masses.

New Article

Hey there people, if you haven't done so, pick up a copy of todays Vancouver Province.

If not, then click on this here nifty link:

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=38cb470d-1911-496f-9504-a3cc68baf645

Oh, yeah, beware. There is a hawt picture of me on there.

Gathering of Eagles

I would love for everyone to check out this great group website. It's for a group called "Gathering of Eagles".

There are several reasons I like this group. For one, in their title, they have a Ross Perot quote. Brave.

Well, actually, that's the only reason I can possibly think of to like a group like this. Not "like" but more "laugh at".

"Aw, poor little yellow punk, it’ll never be safe anywhere for a deserter. I predict suicide will be the solution."

That is what Zeke, a member of this group had to say about me. Wow, what a solution.

So, my fair readers, check out this "non-profit, 501(c)(4) corporation." It'll open your eyes a little.

WE SHALL OVERCOME.

Only Militants in Iraq?

So, I ran across this piece on Mother Jones. It's the perfect argument for those people that deny the fact that civilians are killed in Iraq. I mean, come on George, who are you kidding?


http://www.motherjones.com/commentary/tomdispatch/2007/11/beyond-the-green-zone-iraq-has-only-militants.html

Blackwater: Shadow Army

BLACKWATER, USA.
The Things You Should Know:


-Value in 2002: $3.4 million
-Value in 2003: $25 million
-Value in 2004: $48 million
-Value in 2005: $352 million
-Value in 2006: $593 million

Nice raise, huh?

-Percentage of Blackwater holding company Prince Group's revenue derived from federal contracts: 90

I guess you could call them Government Funded.

-Erik Prince's income in 2006: "More than a million dollars."

-Amount Erik Prince has contributed to the GOP and Republican candidates: $225,000

I guess we could say he's Republican. For sure.

-Compensation paid to family of an Iraqi vice presidential guard killed by a drunken Blackwater operator in the Green Zone last Christmas Eve: $20,000

-Penalty exacted on Blackwater operator: Termination of employment, cost of plane ticket back to U.S. ($1,630), and forfeiture of outstanding pay ($7,067), of Fourth of July bonus ($3,000), and of Christmas bonus ($3,000)

-Total financial penalty for killing Iraqi vice presidential guard: $14,697

-Compensation originally suggested by a State Department official in response to Blackwater's accidental killing of an Iraqi bystander in December 2006: $250,000

-Compensation actually paid: $15,000

-Blackwater's reasoning: "A sum this high will set a terrible precedent. This could cause incidents with people trying to get killed by our guys to financially guarantee their family's future."

Unfair? I'd say.

-Slogan chanted by Code Pink protesters as Erik Prince departed hearing: "War criminal".

Do I agree?

Well, actually I do. Since when did the taxpayers of the United States of America start paying taxes to fund a warlord's private army?

I mean think about it people. The US Army comes out everyday with a new list of "Warlords" that it is trying to apprehend. So, I guess Bush's reasoning is,"Well, hell, we gotta fight fire with fire." Give me a fucking break.

I've already mentioned my first problem with this "Shadow Army" and that is the issue with taxes. Why isn't tax revenue going into the FEDERAL military budget? They wanna take money out of schools to fund the war do they? Why not just take a little money from Blackwater?

But, I'm sure my view is a very simplistic one.

So, on to another complaint. The fact that this man is answerable to no one enrages me. His "troops" are getting away with murder. They kill Iraqis, that, by the way, are declared in reports as innocent bystanders. And what happens to the killer, that hero serving his country from the payrolls of a Warlord? He loses their job, forfeits a little money, no big deal. What's so different in a human being in Iraq compared to one in America again? Is an Iraqi life not worth as much? Why isn't this drunken Blackwater "operative" serving time for murder?

And the list goes on...

WE SHALL OVERCOME.

All statistics are from Bruce Falconer's blog on Motherjones.com's Mojo blog.

Fort Benning Gets a Dose of the Anti-War Movement

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/11/19/5324/

Well, well, well. Fort Benning got a huge dose of reality a few days ago, when 20,000 angry protesters showed up at it's gates. They were protesting The School of the Americas, or wait, new name...what is it...oh yeah, Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation. Nice one.

What I'm pissed about though is the 11 people that are quite possibly still in jail for civil disobedience.

"...ranging in age from 25 to 76..."

Wow, Fort Benning, I'm sure you've stopped some of America's most hardened criminals in this roundup. Congratulations.

Thankyou to the Fort Benning 11. I hope you get out of this crap soon.

WE SHALL OVERCOME.

Who is Our Enemy?

http://www.motherjones.com/commentary/tomdispatch/2007/11/who-is-our-enemy-in-iraq.html

People, this is an essential article to read in understanding the confusion that is Iraq.

It gives me this question...Who in the hell are we fighting against George?

One More Hero has Fallen

The Rev. John H. Cross Jr. died Thursday.

If you are not aware of who this man is, then I'll give you a brief history lesson:

On the morning of September 15, 1963, Birmingham's 16th Street Baptist Church was bombed by members of the Ku Klux Klan. This came at a time of civil unrest over the civil rights of Black Americans. The bombing was a display of hate. It represented the evil that was the Ku Klux Klan.

John H. Cross was the pastor of this church at the time of the blast. He spent the day digging through the rublle trying to locate any possible surivors.

That day claimed the lives of 4 little girls and injured 22 innocent people.

It drew a picture though for all of America to see.

Reverend Cross, may your soul rest in peace.

WE SHALL OVERCOME.

"1960s Radical and Former California Senator Tom Hayden Urges Canadians to Let Former U.S. Soldiers Remain in Canada"

http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/November2007/16/c9244.html

And this War Resister sends out a warm thankyou to Mr. Tom Hayden.

We need more people like this.

WE SHALL OVERCOME.

The Veterans are Loved in America.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22771092-2703,00.html

"At least 6256 US veterans took their own lives in 2005, at an average of 17 a day, according to figures broadcast last night."

And the war goes on.

A growing, shall we say, epidemic? I think so. These men, as I did, signed that contract trusting in the government to take care of them. They live with this trust throughout their military careers, only to be awakened to the fact that that trust was nothing but naivety.

Should the United States take steps to fix this problem? Yes. Do they know what to do? Yes. Will they do it? No, they will not.

"But why not?", you maybe asking yourself.

Because, in order for the United States government to end an epidemic caused by a war, it must end the war. Pretty difficult to grasp, huh?

But they wouldn't even have to go that far. That's the permanent solution. A less permanent fix would be to invest a little more into the mental health of their soldiers. I mean come on Robert Gates, is it really that difficult?

"A separate study published last week shows that US military veterans make up a quarter of homeless people in the US, even though they represent just 11 per cent of the adult population."

And on.

Why in the name of everything great and good are there this many troops living on the streets?

Do you really think these men were signing a contract based on the knowledge that once they were out of the service they were to be homeless? No. They signed a contract thinking, as did I, that they were starting a new life full of opportunities.

So, the simple answer to the aforementioned question is this: The Army didn't keep their end of the deal.

Just another example of military injustice.

WE SHALL OVERCOME.

Thankyou, NDPers.

As many of you reading this already know, Alison Bodine is being barred from Canada for a period of two years. This comes as a shock to me, and to many others that have been influenced by her work in this very important anti-war movement.

So, tomorrow, we send her off...but maybe not.

Today, well, tonight, at a meeting of Alison's defence committee, we were all ecstatic to hear that the BC NDP had invited her to speak at their provincial convention.

AND HERE'S A BIG THANKYOU FOR THE NDP.

So, maybe, if her speech went as well as we think it did, someone in that audience will decide to do something about this unjust decision from the CBSA.

I hope so.

WE SHALL OVERCOME.

Free Speech Radio News

Well, I did an interview a few weeks back for Pacifica Radio. After waiting patiently, it finally made broadcast. Here it is, for your listening pleasure:

http://www.fsrn.org/content/canada%2526%2523039%3Bs-supreme-court-says-u-s-war-resisters-will-not-be-given-refugee-status

The Army is "Freakin' out man".

So, Lolita C. Baldor, a writer with the AP, wrote a nice piece on desertion rates rising in the United States Army. Check it out here:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071116/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/military_deserters

Anyways, you may be wondering what good ole' Brad has to say about this. Well, people, it's about damned time.

And guess what? The longer this war drags on, the lower the morale gets. And the lower the morale gets, the sooner they (the US Government) will be forced to end this travesty.

But why is morale so low? Hmmmmmm, could it be the fact that if you go to Iraq, one of 3 things is most likely to occur:

1. You're gonna get your ass shot or blown off.

2. You're gonna end up killing someone...probably a civilian or freedom fighter, but never a terrorist.

3. You're gonna get Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Which brings me to my next point.

REDACTED. The new Brian Dipalma film. It comes out this Friday. GO SEE IT PEOPLE. You wonder what it's really like for a soldier over there? Well this is your magic little window into their world.

SHAME on the Canadian Supreme Court...

For violating the basic human rights of two men today.

Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Hughey are two fellow Resisters here in Canada, and today they were denied access to a fair chance by the Supreme Court of Canada.

This comes after the Canadian Refugee Board (you know, those guys that don't like us Resisters) had refused their right to claim Refugee Status here in good 'ole peace loving Canada. Well, boys, I guess it's over.

I guess the Canadian government expects you two to just go back. You know, give up. Go serve another tour in the sandbox. Ah, what the hell. Your seeing the world in it's greatest splendor. Oh, and your serving your goddamned country as well. See you all later. Have fun in...wait...where will you go again?

Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. A cozy part of the world. You boys don't mind, do you? After all, you did violate your contract. You know, that contract in which you signed away your rights as a free American. The right to protest. The right to free speech. The right to bear arms (trust me, it's violated. E-mail me if you don't believe it). Oh, and the right to decide for yourself whether or not you want to kill innocent people! Sorry you didn't take the time to read it. You should've thought less about all of that money they were throwing at you, and more about the things that matter. Like humanity.

People, as you can see, I'm pretty pissy about this. I see this as the denial of the existence of a growing problem here in Canada. A problem that must be addressed.

This is one defeat in the war. And people, get ready, because this war is gonna get big.

WE SHALL OVERCOME.

Brad's Story Part 1

I'm walking down Commercial Drive, amazed at the atmosphere that I've just been released into. I pass a Greek restaurant, along with an Ethiopian one, and a sushi bar, and am astonished at the fact that I have never seen so many cultures represented in one place. The beauty of this, the fact that so many different people can live in harmony in one place, intrigues me to the point of childlike fascination. As I walk along, scuttling along a crosswalk as not to impede the flow of traffic, I hear a shout. "Are they shouting at me?" I thought, not understanding what was said. Then I hear it again, this time much more clearly. "Draft dodging son-of-a-bitch!". I immediately turned around, smiled, and sent the guy a peace sign to be remembered. It was a defining moment.

I never really expected this all to happen.

In the summer of 2006, I was a new independent. I was finally free from the dependency of my parents, though they may sometimes argue otherwise. I had moved to Lexington, Kentucky where I worked menial jobs that barely paid the bills. I was poor, lonesome, and longing for a little piece of that thing called the "American Dream". And that piece came, but on a plate bigger than I had ever imagined. The United States Army.

I actually initiated my contact with the US Army. I was to the point of utter desperation, so one dark and dim day I walked into a recruiting office and asked the first uniform I saw to help me. What I was told sent me into a realm of hope that I had not experienced for a great while. 10,000 US dollars as a signing bonus and 37,000 US dollars in the way of a Montgomery GI Bill, for college. The good news was welcome, as I had always wanted to pursue a major in Literature with a minor in Political Science. It was the little sign of light that I had been searching for in my dark and grim existence. It was my chance to finally make something of myself. Now, when mentioning this, I must also include that at this time, the war in Iraq was very much alive and squirming. So yes, I knew about Iraq, and yes, I knew I would probably go, but hey, was I not getting great incentives to go and fight for the well-being of my nation? "I'm a patriot," I thought,"and it's my turn to serve my great and mighty nation." But little did I know that this "great and mighty nation" really hid a dark and murky interior that upon first glance, was virtually invisible.

"I'm a patriot," I thought...

So, I signed up, shipped out to Fort Benning, Georgia, and became one of the many proud men to become infantrymen in the famed Infantry Training Brigade. My time had come, and I was going to make as much out of it as possible. I was sent to Fort Carson, Colorado where I was to further my training in preparation for going to Iraq. In Colorado, I was finally a independent without too many worries. I received regular pay, along with my incentives and did quite well. But then I started having doubts. I went into a period of mental and spiritual rebellion. I questioned everything: The way I was raised in a very conservative "Christian" home; What I was taught in the public school system; What I learned and followed in church. It was mass rebellion, and I feel that it saved my life. I eventually came to the conclusion that I morally could not stand up for a government that's methods and means are so hazy.

How could I go to a nation that I've barely been taught anything about, and kill people that have never posed an immediate threat to my well-being? I couldn't, and that is when I asked to get out of the Army.

A joke. That is what my chain of command thought about my most unusual request for conscientious objector status. "Why in the hell did you join the Army if you can't kill somebody?" I was constantly asked. My dream of finally "making it" was hastily progressing in a downward spiral. Then came the news that our deployment had been advanced to June of 2007 and to top that we were going to the border of Iran. I knew right then that I had to take immediate action and leave as soon as possible.

Canada Bound.

I started researching Canada, and found that as in the Vietnam era, soldiers were once again seeking refuge in Canada. I had made my choice. Canada it was.

Brad is available to speak!

If you are interested in Brad speaking at an event, contact him at : BradMcCallWarResister@Yahoo.com