Vermont, Montana, Oregon and now Washington Governors; Recall Natl Guard

[WebeBlue]

This might be a good time to lend support to what is going on in Recall the National Guard troops initiatives in now 4 states; Vermont, Montana, Oregon, Washington.

This week I accompanied a small delegation to our State Capital to present the Washington state Resolution to the Governor's office. The delegation represented Military Families Speak Out and Gold Star Families for Peace along with some other partnering groups.

For more detail on both the Washington Resolution and the Oregon Resolution, visit website Military FAmilies Speak Out, Pacific Northwest at
http://coastalrain.tripod.com/wmfso/

Two articles in our Washington local media have carried the story of our meeting with Executive Policy Advisor, Antonio Ginatta of the Governor's Executive Policy Office.

http://www.theolympian.com/home/specialsections/Legislature/20050309/102508.shtml

Fort Lewis soldier's family urges Gregoire to oppose deployment

The Olympian, Brad Shannon

Three military-family activists hoping to pull U.S. troops back from Iraq have met with an aide to Gov. Christine Gregoire, urging her to question President Bush's authority to keep Washington National Guard troops deployed in the occupied country.

"This group was very serious ... very direct. The governor will hear about it, and we'll see where she goes with it," said Antonio Ginatta, Gregoire's policy adviser on general government issues, including the military.

Ginatta met with Susan Livingston, sister of Fort Lewis-based Stryker Brigade member Joe Blickenstaff, who died in Iraq, as well as widow Angela Blickenstaff and Lietta Ruger. Ruger said she has a nephew and son-in-law who served in Iraq.

"He said there will be continued dialogue," Livingston said of Ginatta after the meeting. Blickenstaff was among the first Fort Lewis-based Stryker soldiers to die in Iraq, and Livingston said "the governor has a duty to do everything in her power to bring our National Guard troops home as soon as possible, and to make certain they stay here, where we need them."

In a move the activists said was repeated in Oregon with Gov. Ted Kulongoski, they pointed out to Ginatta that the state's drought conditions make it more likely Washington will need Guard troops to deal with wildfire.

The three women are affiliated with military family groups such as the Washington Chapter of Gold Star Families for Peace and Military Families Against the War.

They noted that Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer on Friday asked the Pentagon to return some of that state's Guardsmen in order to fight wildfires. CNN quoted Schweitzer as saying: "Somebody's going to have a blowup. Is it Northern Idaho, is it Eastern Washington, or is it Montana?"

"I know our governor has expressed a particular concern for our veterans returning home from Iraq," Ginatta said. "So I know she will be interested in hearing about the meeting. ... <b>This will get raised to her in the next couple of days.",/b>

... end article

Too much to say, but of particular relevance is that the two young ladies (20 something) who were part of our delegation were beyond impressive and were the vital heart of our delegation's presentation. It was inspiring to see ones so young carry themselves with such dignity and composure in this important meeting in the political venue. More so in that they have suffered the loss of their own beloved in Iraq.

Request: if you are from Oregon or Washington, there is download copy of the Resolution for both states at our website. We invite you to download a copy, sign it and add your address and mail it to the respective Governors (Oregon = Kulongoski; Washington = Gregoire).

[BrklynLiberal]

1. Hooray for States' Rights!!!

[TreasonousBastard]

2. Great idea, but...

can the governors really recall the Guard?

I thought they were the Pentagon's to use if the appropriate declarations werew made.

[rabid_nerd]

4. Yes and no...

States are States...

The Union is only so strong. While the state constitution or code might explicitly relegate authority to the Federal government, each State retains a right to revoke any and all rights and ties to the Federal Government, albeit with repercussions.

Don't doubt that one state could impose tarriffs on goods from another if things got bad enough.

So can they do it? Probably Not.

But can they do it? Yes.

It's like, you "can't" kill someone, evade taxes, run a red light, but people still do (and end up in jail)

[TreasonousBastard]

5. A few of them tried that once before, with repurcussions..

[havocmom]

3. Montana is still in the grip of a devastating drought. The Guard will

likely be needed here in a few months as the fire season hits. The Guard is supposed to be on hand for emergencies. Glad they are looking at bringing them home, the place they were meant to guard!

Homeland Security is a lie. If the neocons were concerned with security at home, they would not have put all those feet on the soil of a nation which was no threat to us. If they were concerned with security, there would be $$ to pay inspectors for ALL containers entering the country instead of only 5-15% of them! Plenty of $$ for defense contractors building systems which STILL can't do what they promised... plenty of $$ for companies people in the WH get checks from... where is the $$ for REAL security for the homeland?