Editor, Times-Union: The Libertarian Party has launched a new website to lobby against the war in Yugoslavia, and hopes to flood Congress with e-mails demanding an immediate end to American military involvement in that conflict.
The site, www.StopTheWarNow.com, went online at the end of April, and is already generating more than 1,000 anti-war lobbying messages a day.
"We want to bombard congress with e-mails in the name of peace, just as the American government is bombarding Yugoslavia with missiles in the name of war," said Steve Dasbach, national director of the Libertarian Party.
People who visit the website can sign a personalized e-mail petition against the war, which will be immediately sent to their U.S. Representative and two U.S. Senators. Visitors can also forward an e-mail message about the site to friends.
The Libertarian Party launched StopTheWar.com because we need to do what we can to bring an end to this war as quickly as possible.
We acknowledge the terrible human suffering of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo, suffering which has been made much worse by our reckless attack on Yugoslavia. However, that tragedy does not justify American military intervention that puts our nation at risk.
Every day that this undeclared war continues, it becomes more likely that ground troops will be deployed, and that we will find ourselves in another Vietnam-style quagmire. As the war escalates, it will become increasingly difficult for politicians to admit they made a mistake, end the war, and bring our troops home.
Dasbach acknowledged that a majority of Americans currently support the U.S.-led NATO bombing campaign in Yugoslavia, but "we expect that to change as the war drags on and casualties mount," he said.
If the American people don't speak out, the war will continue to escalate, ground troops will eventually be deployed, and American casualties will rise. If we don't want that to happen, we must persuade our representatives in Congress to stop the war now.
The Libertarian Party opposes the American-led attack on Yugoslavia because it has reduced our military preparedness, reignited Cold War tensions with Russia, and made us a more tempting target for terrorists.
Most important, our intervention is contrary to the job of the American military, which is to defend America and keep Americans safe, not act as the bomb-slinging policeman to the world. StopTheWarNow.com is patterned after the Libertarian Party's successful DefendYourPrivacy.com site, which generated 171,000 e-mail messages in opposition to the FDIC's Know Your Customer regulation earlier this year. In reaction to that onslaught, the FDIC withdrew the controversial "bank spying" regulation.
Libertarians are hoping to repeat that success with StopTheWarNow.com, we want to put the power of the Internet to work for peace. The complete address of the Libertarian Party's website to lobby against the war in Yugoslavia is www.StopTheWarNow.com.
Daniel Stevens, Warsaw Libertarian Party
Community Garden
Editor, Times-Union: Cultivating a community of caring was our philosophy as we broke ground and began our Community Garden April 25. We began with dirt, seeds, shovels and dreams. It was great to learn that sometimes reality surpasses our dreams. It was just a 30-foot x 30-foot garden plot ... or was it?
The major focus of our community service has centered around our Community Garden. The Garden is about working with kids, kids working with adults, kids getting involved and giving of themselves to serve others. Through the Garden the kids have the opportunity to work with others and can see the fruits of their efforts. This also provides an accessible means for community organizations to work together toward a common goal, the community goal of growth, laughter, caring, helping, teaching, learning and showing that hard work pays off.
The Garden is a joint project of the Boys & Girls Club, the Kosciusko County Master Gardeners and the 4-H Junior Leaders. The expertise from the Master Gardeners, the energy and enthusiasm of the youth with the support of our community to donate seeds, plants, fence, tools and a section of our county fairgrounds has proved to be plentiful in our effort to cultivate a community of caring.
Our program is unique because kids participate in the decision-making. They learn from each other about life, all have something to share. It has made our community more attainable for the youth involved. The kids have been able to contact business and community leaders and other kids. The Garden has made Kosciusko County smaller for the youth involved. The teens teach setting goals and pursuing dreams, and the kids teach being thankful for what they have and making the most of each day.
In the past year, we have added many exciting and educational items to the Garden. We placed a butterfly box in the flower garden, as well as a bird bath, which were both donated by local merchants. A larger compost bin was added to accommodate the productive growth in the Garden. Local gardeners have donated many perennials to help in the design of the flower garden. Passersby now have the opportunity to sit in the Garden through the donation of many park benches, which were donated by the city in which we live, work and grow. The Garden has truly become a community effort.
The Garden has given the kids knowledge of growing both fruits and vegetables, and insight about growing as individuals. Most of the kids from the Boys & Girls Club are noted as being "at risk." Many of their families have a hard time providing nutritious meals. The Garden provides the necessary nutritious meals as a result of the kids' hard work. All the fruits and vegetables grown in the Garden are given to the kids who work so hard to cultivate them. It also gives the kids a positive alternative. Since most of the kids are "at risk," home isn't always the most positive place to be. The Garden is!
The Garden shows how to work together to accomplish a goal and how to accomplish it positively. It shows what hard work can accomplish, and provides a skill they can use forever. There is an old saying, "If you give a man a fish he can eat for a day, if you teach a man to fish he can eat for a lifetime." The Boys & Girls Club of Kosciusko County, the Master Gardeners, and the 4-H Junior Leaders are working together to teach the youth of Kosciusko County how to eat, learn, help, laugh and know the reward of hard work.
Boys & Girls Club, 4-H Junior Leaders and Master Gardeners
Boys And Girls Club
Editor, Times-Union: Last year, the Boys and Girls Club of Kosciusko County awarded a scholarship to Autumn Knepper.
Knepper is attending the University of Evansville and has just completed her freshman year. She stated that the Club's sponsorship meant more to her than dollars. It was an organization saying "I believe in you" and the Boys and Girls Club wants to invest in high school seniors who are members of the Club.
Knepper said that it really doesn't matter where you come from, but it truly is where you are going.
The Boys and Girls Club of Kosciusko County is a United Way Agency and a positive place for kids!
Cindy Knepper, Boys & Girls Club of Kosciusko County
Thank You
Editor, Times-Union: To the students and staff of Madison School ... thanks for Cook Appreciation Day, we hardly know what to say. The posters, cards and goodies were great. The aprons were, too, there's no debate.
Madison is a great school and so we say, "Thank you."
Madison Cafeteria Staff
Christian Rally
Editor, Times-Union: Here's the good news and the bad news.
The good news is that during the same weekend that we were all mourning the Littleton, Colo., teen deaths, the Silver Dome in Pontiac, Mich., was hosting eighty thousand (that's 80,000!) teens for a Christian rally. Many teens from this area were among those eighty thousand.
The bad news is that there was NO news about the event. We all know that had it been a different group (think of the rallies of even 8,000 or less that the news media show us on TV or write about in our newspapers) CNN, ABC, NBC and CBS would all have had their cameras there.
These teens are all to be commended for making a stand to be on the side of good. Let's hope and pray that they will be able to spread that good among their peers. Our world needs them.
Nancy Lee, Warsaw
Teens
Editor, Times-Union: Twelve dangerous words when spoken to a teenager...
"If you don't like it, why don't you do something about it!"
Wouldn't it be far better to study harder to find your special niche where you can really help "Brighten the corner where you are...?"
