Center for Conscience in Action

I'm giving serious thought to submitting a bold proposal to President Joe Biden (for his hopeful consideration after the election but before he leaves office) --- to pardon all US servicemembers who went AWOL (or committed other acts of nonviolent civil disobedience) during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

I think Biden's departure from office presents a unique opportunity for the peace movement since he is looking to establish his legacy. I think this kind of pardon might fit the bill. It would also be a major positive step for our country, but also for the hundreds of servicemembers whose lives have been set back by either court-martial convictions or the threat of future arrest (especially for those who went to Canada and other third countries). I have had a few dozen clients over the years who would be affected by this, and it would be a really big deal for them.

I will be needing help to make this happen. Some of these tasks include:

1. Endorsements from organizations, religious communities, etc.
2. Assistance with drafting the actual pardon request and the draft pardon language that we want Biden to use,
3. Help with lobbying President Biden to take this action.

If you or a group you are part of would be interested in joining this effort, please be in touch.

Also, if you are a war resister from this era, please consider writing a statement explaining how such a pardon would effect you, as we would need these statements as evidence to present to the White House.

Tagging: Courage To Resist Military Law Task Force of the National Lawyers Guild, Center on Conscience & War, Veterans For Peace, About Face: Veterans Against the War

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/26/world/europe/ukraine-draft-consulate.html

(a non-paywall link for this story: https://archive.ph/RC2f9 )

It is very disappointing (but not surprising) that the US is backing Ukraine in violating the human rights of Ukrainian conscientious objectors.

Excerpt: As American officials pressed lawmakers in Washington to deliver more military aid for Ukraine, they also pressed the government in Kyiv to address problems with its draft.

James O’Brien, the assistant U.S. secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, noted on a visit to Kyiv this week that the country’s mobilization efforts were every bit as critical to stabilizing the front and turning the tide of war as artillery.

“Ukraine needs to make sure it has the people necessary to fight,” he said at a news conference.

archive.ph

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/gop-rep-tim-walberg-suggests-gaza-handled-nagasaki-hiroshima-rcna145752

We need to be clear about this.

Rep Tim Walberg is advocating for and is promoting the commission of . He is now trying to dodge these accusations but he is forgetting something very important: the atomic bomb attacks on and were war crimes. Unfortunately, the US got away with this crime, but it doesn't change the fact that the atom bomb drops were among the most vile and depraved acts committed by the United States of America.

GOP Rep. Tim Walberg suggests Gaza should be handled 'like Nagasaki and Hiroshima' The Michigan congressman said his comments were intended to convey his desire for Israel and Ukraine to "swiftly" end their wars "without putting American troops in harm's way."

https://nlgmltf.org/military-law/2024/petition-launched-to-support-survivor-of-military-recruiter-abuse/

Please consider signing this petition in support of one of my clients, Lavender Gunderson, a survivor of military recruiting abuse.

This petition has three main prongs:

1. Expressing support for Lavender's discharge upgrade case with the Board of Corrections of Naval Records (BCNR) so that she will be eligible for VA care in the future,
2. Demanding Congress take further action to stop recruiter abuse,
3. Demanding the Executive branch (including President Joe Biden, the Secretary of Defense, and the branch secretaries) take action to implement further regulations to prevent recruiter abuse.

And after you sign, please share the petition.

P.S. This petition will be presented to BCNR as part of Lavender's discharge upgrade application packet, but also will be shared with government officials this fall.

Petition launched to support survivor of military recruiter abuse - Military Law Task Force We are sharing this petition from our friends at Courage to Resist. —————————————————————————————————————– To sign the petition – click here. Lavender Gunderson, a survivor of military recruiter sexual abuse, is seeking di...

https://www.startribune.com/dozens-detained-as-russian-soldiers-wives-call-for-their-return-from-ukraine/600340803/

Dozens detained as Russian soldiers' wives call for their return from Ukraine Follow the StarTribune for the news, photos and videos from the Twin Cities and beyond.

Sharing with permission from Ian Chinich:

"Democracy" in the US was initially based on a Greek system where there was no standing armies and in fact standing armies were seen as the biggest threat to liberty. Even societies that were renowned for war like Sparta didn't have a standing army according to scholars and had a militia it could call up in times of war.

https://cajundiscordian.medium.com/please-no-terminators-d9d5dc26d13a

Sharing this from one of my friends, a combat veteran who also has extensive background in the work of AI.

(I'll share a link in the comments with some verification of his claims about the use of AI in the war)

Excerpt: However, these are in fact not Kumbayah times and the government of Israel has in my opinion crossed a CLEAR boundary line. They have reportedly deployed truly autonomous weapons systems in Gaza where the AI is deciding who to suggest that they kill. That’s not a slippery slope. That’s the whole slide down. The MOMENT we are asking the AI who we should kill, even for suggestions, we have crossed the Rubicon and entered a world in which I do not think many of us want to live.



Tagging: Military Law Task Force of the National Lawyers Guild, Courage To Resist, About Face: Veterans Against the War, Veterans For Peace

Please no Terminators I am a combat veteran with PTSD and have tried to avoid coverage of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Not because I don’t care deeply about…

https://nlgmltf.org/military-law/2023/online-cle-representing-veterans-with-bad-paper-discharges-in-discharge-review-cases/

Live via zoom on August 29th, available in recorded format on September 1

Description: Many veterans receive less-than-honorable discharges from the military, often resulting from undiagnosed illness, perceived troublemaking or dissent, or sheer racial discrimination. Other than Honorable and even General discharges may result in loss of VA and other benefits, limit employment possibilities, and create a life-long stigma. For some veterans, they result in a personal sense of humiliation or dishonor. The speakers will discuss representation of “bad paper” veterans before the services’ Discharge Review Boards and Boards for Correction of Military/Naval Records. They will provide an overview of the Boards’ policies, procedures and standards; discuss recent trends in discharge review cases and underlying regulations; explore common arguments for upgrades; and offer insights into brief preparation, evidence, and representation at hearings before the Discharge Review Boards.

This CLE is part of a series designed to equip inexperienced lawyers and advocates with the basic skills to do their first military law cases, but also to serve as a refresher course for experienced military law practitioners. Law students, GI rights counselors, and other legal workers may also find the series appropriate.

2023 -2024 Military Law Task Force Fundraiser, organized by James Branum MLTF - Military Law Task Force of the National Lawyers Guild Fighting for… James Branum needs your support for 2023 -2024 Military Law Task Force Fundraiser

Sharing this fundraising pitch from an organization that we have worked with for many years.

If you are looking at making an end-of-year donation, we strongly recommend the MLTF, in large part because it covers a unique area of work --- supporting individual servicemembers and veterans, but from an anti-Imperialist perspective.

P.S. If you can't afford to give right now, please consider sharing this post. Thanks!

Many organizations are doing an end-of-year fundraising pitch and we are no exception. To ensure that the MLTF can fulfill its mission of keeping a critical legal eye on the US military (from our anti-imperialist perspective) and providing advocacy for service members and veterans, we need your support.

By making an end-of-the-year donation to the MLTF (through the NLG Foundation), you will not only be getting a 2022 tax deduction (subject to the rules of the IRS code), but also will be helping us to be able to springboard our upcoming crowd-sourced funding drive that will be launched on January 1!

So if you would like to make an end-of-the-year donation to the MLTF, here's how to do it:

1. By check - Mail your check to Military Law Task Force, 730 N. First St, San Jose, CA 95112. If you need a tax deduction for your gift, please make it payable to "NLG Foundation" and put MLTF on the subject line. If you do not need a tax deduction, please make your check payable to "Military Law Task Force." Lastly --- to get a 2022 tax deduction, it needs to be mailed with a postmark of no later than December 31, 2022.

2. Online - For tax-deductible donations, you can donate at https://www.nlg.org/donate-mltf/ Donations made this way must be made by midnight (eastern time), December 31, 2022. If you do not need a tax deduction, please give at this link instead: https://nlgmltf.org/support/ (lower processing fees for us, but NOT tax-deductible).

3. If you would like to be listed as a donor on our upcoming spring funding drive (which means you'll get mentioned on On Watch and on our website), please email James Branum at girightslawyer(at)gmail.com.

4. If you can't give right now, but know someone who can, please share this message with them!

DoD talks "extremism", ignores “racism” or “white supremacy” | Courage to Resist DoD Instruction 1325.06 amounts to only a small improvement in the military’s attempt to eliminate racism within its ranks. - Military Law Task Force.

We are making a change on our daily webcast schedule.

Our new schedule will be:

6 pm Pacific 7 pm Mountain 8 pm Central
9 pm Eastern 1 am UTC

We will first air the latest version of our Beyond Coexistence Webcast (a program hosted by Interfaith Minister James), which runs from 5-30 minutes, focusing on practical information and inspiration during the days of .

After that we'll air a range of videos that we think are fun, hopeful, entertaining and/or helpful --- which will include music, spoken word, etc.

All of these videos will run in real time, so those watching can watch together and chat about what they are seeing.

Please join us at facebook.com/objector.church for these daily programs and please consider sharing them on social media.

And if you aren't familiar with our religious humanist peace-focused community, please visit our website www.objector.church.

Objector Church The Objector Church is a religious humanist nondenominational interfaith peace and justice community.