All They Are Saying, Is Give Peace A Department

Alliance seeks Peace Department:

Dorothy "Dot" Maver, executive director of The Peace Alliance, is leading efforts in urging the U.S. Congress to establish a U.S. Department of Peace.

Maver, a Vermont resident, spoke over the weekend at the Cornstalk Music-Art-Peace Festival in rural Dunnell.

Damn, how could I have missed that?

She also met with the Minneapolis City Council last week to encourage members to pass a resolution in support of the U.S. Department of Peace bills being considered in the U.S. Senate and House.

There are at least 75 House members co-sponsoring the bill. It would establish a U.S. Secretary of Peace to serve in the President?s cabinet. A similar bill in the U.S. Senate has less support. There, Sens. Mark Dayton from Minnesota and James Jeffords of Vermont introduced the bill.

The Peace Alliance has members in all 50 states.

"The focus within our campaign is to recognize that while our U.S. Department of State is doing its job internationally, we need a partner in the federal government for the state, city and local levels that puts a focus on peace-building. That helps our children learn the skills of the peace professions, conflict resolution, mediation, reducing prison rates, and helping to reduce violence in communities.

"This is one of the most pragmatic ideas in this country," Maver said. "It fits with the founding fathers' vision for this country. In the United States Constitution, the call was for domestic tranquility before military defense."

All they are saying, is give us some cash.