 I'm Jill Clark Golub and I'm with the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, the Vermont Chapter, and also the Vermont Peace and Anti-War Coalition, one of the people that helped organize today's event. And we are Vermonters who have been trying for months to get a message to Senator Bernie Sanders to even just have a meeting with him to no avail. Some 700 people have signed petitions wanting to talk to Senator Sanders about his policy of continuously voting yes to send more weapons to Ukraine. It's now over $110 billion that Congress has authorized, which is simply throwing fuel on the fire of war leading to more deaths. It's over a half million people who have died in Ukraine, and the country is being a sacrifice zone for this proxy war that the U.S. helped provoke just for NATO expansion. And we need to stop this. We need money for schools, for student debt relief, for health care, to reverse the opioid crisis and for housing. I heard yesterday that $70 billion would be enough money to end the housing crisis in the United States. And Senator Sanders is spending our money on just death and war. That could be more important than resolving the housing crisis in the United States. So no more money for war. Hi, my name is David Ross. I'm a two tour combat medic in Vietnam and currently a member of Veterans for Peace and also a member of Vietnam Veterans Against the War. The reason I'm here today is to protest the lack of Bernie's participation in ending this war. I think Bernie's great when it comes to veterans. I think he's great when it comes to workers' issues. But he's not really a socialist, he's not an internationalist, and he's doing nothing except continuing to support this war in Ukraine. I don't think that most people are aware of the fact that the Ukraine government is not even legitimate. It was installed and now we're backing it and we've done this in many, many countries. The sad thing is, I mean, the horrors I saw in Vietnam, and I'm trying to imagine this is all over again. It's another war that's basically a war of attrition. Just two sides slaughtering each other. No outcome in the foreseeable future. At least Ukraine has mostly been just torn to shreds. So I think Bernie should listen to us. We can't get a meeting with him, he's our representative. We want to talk to him. And that's basically why we're here today. We had enough of the war, we want to end it, we want to end it through negotiations. They can come up with something like Russia can have back, the Russian-speaking portion of it, because a lot of those people have been interviewed and, you know, an awful lot of the Russian-speaking people, they want to be part of Russia. And Ukraine doesn't want to give it up. The final thing is people don't understand that in the Napoleonic War and the war with Germany and so on, the traditional thing has been pushing on all the edges of the Soviet Union, surround them, and then go for their throats. And in the end, the Soviets have always, the Russians have always won, but they've paid a god-awful price to do this. And now they're surrounded again with the last pieces that, I mean, you take Latvia, Lithuania, and so on, you know, the Baltic countries, and our friends, now they're going to come into NATO. And we've been up there, like, creating military equipment up and down their borders provocatively as we can. The Russians don't want to be surrounded again. And that's what a lot of this war is about, too, not just Putin wanting to make Russia great again. You know, everybody wants to make their country great again. And Putin's a horrible guy. But the bottom line is we've surrounded them, we've pushed them, and now it's time to find a way out. Final thought, you look at some of these videos on YouTube, the homeless people in San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, New York. These are people living on the streets. Some of them don't even have a tent. Some of them don't even have a sleeping pad. And then what are we doing for our homeless people? Well, we're coming by with bucket loaders, taking a few things they've got left, piling them on and dumping them, telling them to get the hell off the street. Same thing. All these immigrants, illegal, illegal, whatever you want to call them. They took their kids away. Basically put them in child concentration camps, and because of record keeping and so bad because the administration has been so pathetic, they don't even know how to get a lot of these kids back to their parents. The kids don't know where their parents are. I mean, you know, it's just time for this stuff to stop, and it's time for Americans to get involved, and if they have to go out in the streets and get arrested, fine, we'll have to do that. So that's all I've got to say. It's just, the whole thing is just sad, it's a tragedy. My name is Marasha, and I'm Ukrainian. I would just like to say that no one wants peace more than Ukrainians and Ukraine dying for it. Ukraine is a peaceful, democratic country invaded by Russia to appropriate their land, freedom, democracy, sovereignty, culture, and language. The way to peace is for Russia to leave Ukraine. My name is Ethan Park. I live in Montpelier. I've been part of a group that has been maintaining a vigil in front of the Montpelier post office twice a week since the beginning of the war in Ukraine. I just basically feel that people of conscience need to respond when there is aggression against a sovereign country in violation of the UN Charter. And I just support the Ukrainian people. I support Ukrainian Americans, many of whom have relatives back in Ukraine. And I feel that the only way to peace is for Russia to leave Ukraine. And as an American, I sincerely hope that happens. My name is Gary Haas. I'm part of the Montpelier Ukraine Support Group that meets every Tuesdays and Thursdays in front of the Montpelier post office. And we're here to show people that we support Ukraine's great efforts to rid themselves of a Russian occupation and basically a genocide of Ukrainian people. And it started in Crimea. We let the Russians get away with that. And now look where we're at right now. So anyway, none of us like war, but we all feel this is a terrible wrongdoing to all humanity, and especially democracy. Hello, my name is Bob Troster. I'm another Montpelierite with the group that meets every Tuesday and Thursday. You're welcome to come in front of the old post office in Montpelier. In support of Ukraine, I was in the Peace Corps 50 years ago. And I believe in peace. And I marched against the war in Iraq. I marched against the war in Vietnam. But I believe that if someone attacks you and your home, you have to do something about it. You can't just say, let's negotiate. Because they're not going to negotiate, they'll take. And in this case, one person can stop this war, Vladimir Putin. And until he does it for some reason, the war will continue until he kills every last Ukrainian. So we have to do what we can to support them, hence the poster, and we wish you would too. Hey, I'm Bob. I'm from Bradford, Vermont. And we're here today in Burlington. And we're trying to stop the United States government from making war and being perilous all over the world. It's time to sit down at a table and negotiate. Sit down at a table and negotiate. Talk, talk, talk. So my left here is Dave. He's going to say a couple of words. Oh, Dave Ransom. And it's just been a natural flow of my life. When I was a kid, I was the one that tried to settle the arguments of the family or in school and so on, developed different chapters. Anyway, when we get up here, we find that after Korea, many veterans wanted to speak for peace because they'd learned the truth about war and about economy and about big power. And so we formed a chapter. It's been a very, very wonderful road. And we're here to support peace and conversation. You know, why do you get up and punch somebody when you can talk with them? At least learn the language. And I'll pass it on to? OK, yeah, my name is Jane Hendley. I'm here because we have to support peace negotiations. Otherwise, the war will never end. The US and Russia are in competition with each other. And Ukraine is getting the worst of it. And both have interests in Ukraine. And NATO plays a part, too. That was set up during World War II. And probably we should not be pushing for it. And probably that was a factor in starting the war, too. That needs to be part of the negotiations. Hey, peace is the way to go. Starting working with kids and families and having everybody grow up, understanding each other. That's a tough position. So we're going to march. And we're going to rally. And we're going to say our message. And we're going to hand out leaflets. And we're calling for talks and negotiations because we know one phone call from Joe Biden ends the killing, one call. Or maybe it'll be on a cell phone and maybe it'll be a text. But one message will end the killing. You know, and maybe some Ukrainian fighters will keep fighting. That's not something we can control. But we can control whether we continue fueling the war. That's what we can control because this is our country and our government. I think we should march. And every intersection will rally as we go up. Apparently there's a fire engine parked on College Street. That's the intelligence that I get. So we'll just go around the fire and we'll keep going. And at the end at noon, around noon, 12.15, we'll have a press conference. We'll read the famous letter that will be carried by Bread and Puppet Hand. What was the Bread and Puppet Hand used in what show? This year's pageant, a little bit of summer. So the Great Pageant Hand of Bread and Puppet will carry the letter that we have just asked Bernie Sanders to read. Bernie Sanders is one of the most powerful people in the world. And he can call Joe because he's his friend and he can tell Joe, Joe, people want you to end this war. And that's how it happens. It's always happened that way with these wars. Because we're the leader in the world. And people look to us to lead. So I'm not exactly a, you know, like a. This is a fire engine. You're going to be a little chiant about putting out the fire in Ukraine. All right, well, you're going to initiate that. I'm so glad. And we also want to give. This is Jill. Hi, everybody. I'm Jill with Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. And we also want, if we have any people who do not like what we're doing and have nasty things to say to us, we do not engage. We keep marching. If someone is very, very insistent, we send them to the social worker. I'm a social worker, yeah. I'll take people's side and look and chat. We are all committed to nonviolent. OK. Oh, good. Thank you. We're going to have a particular chant. We have Jill's in charge. I like them. I've got more. Do you have one or both? Why are you? Yeah. My name is Barbara Feliti. And I'm here because I feel that it's important for people to know about the messages that are coming out today. I support Ukraine and the actions today. I really understand Code Pink and VPAC and Bread and Puppet being anti-war. I get it. The problem is, is they don't realize the implications of what they're saying. It's somewhat misguided to just say, there should be no support for Ukraine. Because what will happen if Ukraine is not supported is that Ukraine will lose its freedom and will lose its sovereignty. People are already, there isn't anyone in Ukraine, there isn't anyone who wants peace more than the people in Ukraine. But they want to be able to have their freedom and their sovereignty as well. They do not want to be overrun by Russia. I'm Jeanette Basavius from Burlington, Vermont. I'm a first-generation Ukrainian-American. My grandparents and great-grandmother escaped Ukraine during the time of Stalin. They escaped what was happening then, what's happening now. I'm all about peace. But I don't support what Code Pink and VPAC and Peter Schumann and Brett and Puppet are advocating for today. I support continued financial and military support from the US to Ukraine so they can defend themselves from the terrorists. I do not support negotiating with terrorists, murderers, rapists. That's why we're here today. This letter we're delivering to Senator Sanders' office at Juan Verchurch Street. We've been here many times in the last six months. We've registered petition to the senator. We'll cry for peace the more silence they get. But that's always the way. Whenever there's a war, there's this intense silence mixed with lies. Ever were. And Russia reacted, and we had an arms race. Well, that's where we are again. Because there are many more missiles fell pointing at Russia. Russia's not fighting just in Ukraine, which is wrong. But they are fighting us, and they're fighting Ukraine. And they're fighting to survive. And the people here who support Ukraine and the poor people in Ukraine who are under the boots of war, we respect them. Of course, they're right. But we want to read the letter. We're going to read it now, and we're going to deliver it to Sanders' office right here. Office visit to request a meeting with you to discuss pathways to a diplomatic negotiated end to the war in Ukraine. You have been ignoring us. We're here today waiting for you until we get a response. Negotiations are the only way to stop the senseless suffering and deaths of the Ukrainian people. We are outraged that you have voted to send over $110 billion of our taxpayer money to throw fuel on the fire of war in a boondoggle for the 1% billionaire class. The owners of climate-killing fossil fuel companies made $134 billion in excess profits last year. Thanks to the blockage of Russian gas into Europe and the weapons manufacturer's profits sold sort of 37% to 40% thanks. Thanks to new Pentagon contracts in this war. Congress should instead allocate billions to address the climate, housing, opioid health care, and student debt crisis. We are also alarmed at the reckless expansion of NATO to now include an aggressive stance toward China, the obvious target of the next proxy war. Senator Sanders, why are you supporting the Biden administration? Irresponsible march toward nuclear confrontation. The bulletin of atomic science says that we are now closer than ever to oblivion. This is the time for diplomacy. The weapons industry, which holds too much sway over our imperfect democracy, wants the war to continue. We, citizens, demand that it stop, not one more penny for war. For months, we have been requesting a face-to-face meeting with you, which we still want. In the meantime, the situation has grown more dire. Therefore, Reaver Monters now demand that you issue an immediate public statement calling for ceasefire and negotiated settlement in Ukraine. We're a part of a majority of people in the United States and around the world who are against this war, which causes death and risks nuclear disaster. Peace begins at home. Let's talk. Vermont Peace Anti-War Coalition for Women's Nations International League for Peace and Freedom, Vermont Chapter 57, Veterans for Peace. Thank you. Many of us, we are lifelong Vermonters or have been here for the majority of our lives. So we care about Vermont. And when I first heard the F-35, then I heard it was here at a public airport. I knew that was wrong. But when I hear it, when I hear it go over, in this morning, there were multiple planes going over. And now the F-35 and the F-16 and its other planes are deployed on the borders of Russia. Now, the F-35 is a nuclear-armed capable system. We have the Department of Energy is funding the nuclear weapons, the new arms race. And so it's not just the Department of Defense. So we live in a war economy, and we need to realize this in order to mobilize and change. So we're Vermonters, and we're not willing to take part in this march to war and risk nuclear war. We're not willing. So we're going to bring Bernie Sanders' buzzer on the office door. And hopefully they will come down and take the letter and invite us in. If they don't, they did what they did recently, which is to have us put it in the foyer. And so we're going to ring the buzzer, and we need a bread and puppet. Do you have a symbol? Just a symbol? Yeah, a musical symbol, not a symbolic symbol. Good, good. We're going to press Bernie Sanders' office buzzer. And we just want a little fanfare. A clown just came up here. Hey, she's got the balloons. Well, listen, if the letter is not received by the office, we can send them up on the balloons. Oh, would you want my help? You want my balloons? Would you? Oh, I'd love to know. Do you know this woman? OK. Let's see if we can get in, as this is a democracy. Just a note. Hucking chair here, the empty rocking chair, is for Bernie to come talk. So we're going to leave that here for a while. If we do not reach the senator through some means today and have our wishes recognized, which is that he talked to Biden for diplomacy, we will be going to church. Excuse me. What's that street right over there? Cherry. Cherry. What a lovely name. Cherry Street. And having a demonstration there, maybe in the middle of traffic. So who wants to press the buzzer? Anyone? Who's braving? Here we go. Oh, somebody's trying to get out. Matt. Open the door. OK. Open the door. Somebody's trying to get out. The door's still locked. And the door is locked, and someone's trying to get out. And we're hoping to talk with you about our letter. Drop the letter on. We are hoping to actually invite Senator Sanders down here. And we have a chair already for him because we've been asking to speak with him for months now. Understood. I'm senator. It's not available at the moment. But if you are trying to deliver a letter, that's an invite to the senator. Our state director would be able to come down and accept that once they have a moment. And I can flag that for them. OK. You can flag that. Thank you. There's a fellow in your lobby who's trying to get out of the building, and he's unable to because it appears to be law. So do you have any help for him? It looks like he's trying to call someone for help. I still happen to know, because I'm unable to see if he's down at the moment. But I will flag that you're hoping to drop that letter out for the current. And it's just that I myself have been trying to talk to Bernie about the F-35 issue since 2019. And he refuses to speak to us about any of these military issues. And I'm wondering if you have any thoughts about why that might be. Myself, and this is about to time out just for your awareness. But I can pass your concerns along to Senator Sanders, and our staff member will be down to collect that. We'll be here if it could be soon. It's very hot. So we would appreciate that. And it won't take much of your time. We know actually that the senator is in Washington DC. And at this moment, Medea Benjamin and others from Code Pink are outside of the senator's office with the same requests for negotiations and an end to the war and an end to all these wars. So yeah, we'd love to talk. But really, we want to deliver the letter and continue to try to help get some sympathy, OK? I think it might have timed out. You can press the button again. Hi, we're the protesters outside again. And I wanted to add a few things about the concerns I've shared with Bernie Sanders. One of them is about the high levels of PFAS discharged by military operations all over Vermont, in particular at the Vermont Air Guard base right here at the Burlington Airport. That has created toxic soil and water, and that's discharged into our lake and into the Winooski River. And it's damaging to children. It causes neurological problems along with cancer and fertility issues. And he received a letter from Dr. Peter Bingham at the UVM Medical Center, who is the state's premier child neurologist about the concerns about the F-35 noise toxicity. And again, we haven't seen a response to that. That was also many months, if not years ago, that we've been sharing these concerns. And so we do have our rocking chair out here, and we're very eager to just meet and talk with Bernie Sanders about our concerns. Thank you. So there's a staff member on the way down to pick up the letter. As you know, this is a symbolic piece of theater. And it's symbolic because there really doesn't seem to be what we always would learn to children in this country. It's called redress. So we've been seeking an end to this war because the New York Times says that 500,000 people have died in Ukraine. These are combatants. War are injured. That's no small number. So that's one thing. The other thing is the threat of nuclear war. So we're going to deliver our letter. And we have offered a symbolic place for the senator and always been open to the democratic process. Oh, hello. Hi, there. Well, let's be polite and let's talk. Hi. Hi, how are you? I'm well. Thank you. How are you? I don't know. I'm Katie Van Hees. I'm pretty stage director. Nice to meet you. That's all right. You can come take your time. Yes, hi. Do you want to use the microphone? I don't need to. OK. Six months ago, I registered mail. Great. And it was received at this office six months ago. Knowledge that we sent this letter with with 650 signatures, which are in that envelope. Thank you. And we actually met with Bernie's foreign policy advisor, Max Hoffman and Bernie Sanders foreign policy advisor told us two months after we sent this letter, two months it took us to harass them to really get a meeting. Bernie, his policy advisor says, we said, what are your sources for for how you understand this war is being conducted? He said MSN, AP News, Routers, and some other mainstream sources. Now, we know that's not true. OK, so sorry to use this moment in this way, but we feel that we've been through the process of trying to communicate with a senator who we've known for many years. And there's a lot of silence. So is there any comment you can make about what you know about our intentions? So I can say that we've received your letter. We received the letter that you sent yesterday. We sent a letter back to you. I have copies of that letter that I'm happy to share. I don't know that I have enough for everyone here. But I'm happy to share the response from the senator. I'm very glad that you were able to meet with our foreign policy advisor. Wait for full. Our staff is here to meet with constituents when the senator is not available. Thank you for keeping it short, because OK. But thanks for taking the letter. And the original letter with all the signatures is also in your office. We know it was received six months ago. And we continue to seek some dialogue. But we also today are seeking we have a demand. And that is today, whether from Washington DC or here, we get a statement from the senator that he's going to call Joe Biden and ask for negotiations rather than bombs. So the senator's statement is implementing this letter? OK. Oh, yeah. That's predictable. Thank you. And have a lovely day. Thank you very much. OK. Does anyone have something to say about who are calling for negotiations and talks here? Does someone have a think Henry wanted to talk? You're not calling for negotiations? OK. Well, we're going to try and make our message clear today. Thank you. So those who are interested in diplomacy, well, there's a huge state department in this country. And come up and say something about talks. And how to all wars end with talks, every one of them. Henry, do you want to say something? Something that a lot of people don't know that I didn't know until about six months into the war, even though I follow pretty closely, is that there was peace negotiations in March of 2022. And there was actually a deal reached. Nemzolinsky were both ready to sign. And Boris Johnson flew in personally and told Zelensky not to sign because he would get a better deal by fighting. And we see the result. And for me, it feels like the same message, which is bomb before negotiations. And we've heard it so many times. And this war is more complicated. But there was an option. And ultimately, there still is an option. And the option of fighting looks less and less effective every day, especially for the Ukrainians. And the option of negotiations looks more and more necessary every day, especially for the Ukrainians and who are caught in the middle of a superpower conflict, which is decades in the making. And again, every war ends in negotiations. And that's all we're calling for. My name is Martha Hennessy. I live in Weathersfield, Vermont. I also participate with the New York Catholic Worker. And we have stood against war for decades. And I just want to say briefly that I want to thank for an aid he has helped us with the elderly, with the vets, with workers' rights. Thank you, Bernie, for your decades of support. Also, the community land trust work that has been done here in Burlington, very amazing, important work. So thank you. I do think that an armistice or a ceasefire is very reasonable and very possible. This is what was done for Korea. It's not a perfect situation now whatsoever with the militarization of South Korea and the North. And so we do think that any kind of an armistice is helpful. We've got to stand up against war. Right now, Medea Benjamin, many other people are down in D.C., risking their personal safety to stand up and say that this war is not right. All of these wars have been fought for corporate interests. And this is nothing new. What we're dealing with now is war for profits. And so I just want to thank all of you here who have been willing to stand up and speak both for and against this war. And what's really important is that we all speak together. And Bernie, he needs to be in this circle as well. I have friends who just spent some time in Germany and the Netherlands. The United States has nuclear weapons on the soil of five different countries. And this is a violation of international law. And right now the NATO states are practicing war games. And they're very serious. And they're spending a lot of time, money, and carbon footprint. This is for real. This preparation for this current war is very real and very, very dangerous. And we also are looking at upgrading our nuclear arsenal under President Obama at $36 billion. We are having crying needs here at home with regard to health care, education, schools, housing. It's a real crisis for the working class right now. As Bernie has been so good to support. Also war feeds into climate collapse. So the largest carbon footprint right now is the U.S. military. And we have maintained hundreds of bases around the world and we are bringing in the next phase of weapons. We left Afghanistan after 20 years. I had three trips to Kabul. I saw the effects of war. And now we are in this next war. Who called for this war? Why is it still going? And so I just want to be very clear about how we are all complicit in this. We live with the highest standard of living in human history and that comes at the cost of a barrel of a gun. And all of these other countries are very much suffering, especially in the South. We can end this war, we can deal with this climate collapse but we've got to do it now. And the United States has been called the essential nation. Well, let's make ourselves essential in terms of bringing a world peace and thank you all for coming. Like everyone else, of course I am in favor of peace. But I lived in Ukraine from 2017 until 2021. I've gone back there twice this year in February to March and then again from May until July. I've been to places near the frontline in Herzog and Donbas. And the reality is that under the current circumstances, there can be no negotiations with Russia's government. They are completely unhinged to degenerate maniacs with whom there can never be any negotiations under any circumstances. There can be negotiation eventually as people here have said, all wars end with negotiations. But, no, I am in favor of peace just like you. The guideline that I said for speaking, the guideline I said for speaking, let me just say something. This support, let me just come back. Okay, that's your position, that's fine. We're here today. The reason why we came from different parts of Vermont and we've been organizing is to have a different strategy to end the war. Not everyone agrees, certainly. I would say the support for Ukrainians has been high in this country and rightfully so. But we have a different position and we have a different history, really, about how these wars end. And we know they don't end with twisting the arm of people and then bombing them. We know that. That's what Russia may be doing, which they should not. But don't shout us down because we are for peace. And we're here, you know, on our own recognizant as free Americans to speak. And we said, if you wanna speak in this microphone, we'd like to hear your ideas about negotiations and diplomacy, which we have heard nothing of. So now's the time. All right. What do you have to say? Dave Ross, right there. Oh, have you got to say something? Tell us who you are, Dave. My name's Dave Ross, I live up in Milton. I'm a graduate of the South Clinton High School and the University of Vermont, yay. So, I wasn't drafted, I enlisted. I wasn't sent to Vietnam to volunteer twice. I had a safe job. I'm a mathematician, first step to the division. I think what a lot of people don't understand is what the hell war really is. I was stationed in Germany for a short period and I went into parts of Munich and some other cities. They still hadn't cleared out, this is like 64. They still hadn't cleaned up the bombing because amazing, just like square miles of buildings and stress crumbled to the ground. Vietnam, I saw things no one should see. I saw a dead woman, her baby was trying to suck on her. Who's gonna come take care of that baby? I saw, there's a young medic and in fact, I've got his medics bag here. And he was lying dead on top of the guy he was trying to save and that guy was dead too. So, I took his bag in his hat and then it's all war. So many years to change their meetings through time. What we don't understand is what the human cost is. How many lives more have to be lost in Ukraine? It's not even a legitimate government we're fighting for. It was basically coon in. We've overthrown so many, you know, America's for peace and the strength and the glory of the world. BS, we gotta look for the world. And I'd stand here and bore you to death and die of hyperventilation, trying to name all the places just in Simon alive that we've gone in overthrown governments, installed corrupt governments, backed murderous governments, and it's unreal. We're not such a great country. We have the potential to be a great country. This thing over there, it's not gonna end unless there's a negotiation. World War II ended with negotiations. World War I, every war ends with negotiations. Both men argue with each other. They send the kids off to die. Then they suspect the table, they're just going to hand over. How long does this have to go on? What price? And look at America. Go on YouTube, look at the videos. Homelessness, look at the ones in Oakland, San Francisco, Seattle, New York, Philadelphia, or in my gun. Some people don't even have a piece of cardboard to sleep on. People that have a tent and they have a few things they've saved, maybe they're family photos and a few keepsakes. And what happens? They come through with bucket loaders, they scoop it all up and take it to the dump teller, people get off the street. And we've got housing vacancies, vacant places all over the place. We're not giving military bases that have been just kind of shut down. We're not putting these people anywhere. We're not giving them job training. Anybody ever hear of the work progress program? They took thousands and thousands of people in the depression, they put them to work. Building state parks, building and creating art, doing, you know, fixing roads, all sorts of stuff. They got people working, they got them moving, they got us out of the depression in the end. What are we doing now? We doing it for the homeless? How about the people coming across the border? They separated from their kids and they don't even bother to have an accounting system to keep track of where the kids are. So they get a whole lot of kids out there. They're probably never gonna see their parents again. God bless America. We don't have our act together at all. And the war in Ukraine is just another symptom of it. And where's all this money going to? We gave billions to Ukraine. When Ukraine spent it, they bought more airplanes, guns, bombs from us. So we didn't really send it. We just diverted it to the major war manufacturers. So at some point, people gotta see this big picture and they gotta shut down the whole system. It's just not right. We're better than that. We have enough resources for a rich country and we don't need to go to war to take stuff away from other people. Thanks, ladies. Thank you, Dave. As a social worker who worked at the VA hospital to say thank you for your service. And so it means a lot, maybe not to a veteran for peace who went through Vietnam, but to our service men and women now, you know, thank you for your service. We're not here, we're not against you. Although some of us have some issues there. In a few minutes, it appears that, as you know, the senator's not here and we appreciate your presence. We've demanded that the senator pressure Biden today have make a public statement. There are others of us in Washington, DC and we haven't heard anything. So we're going to go to Cherry Street in a few minutes and we have one more speaker, a brief comment. And when we're going to sit down in the street, those of us who are willing and we will show our resistance to this war and all these stupid wars. Hi, I'm Maria Schumann from Greensboro, Vermont. I just wanted to make a really quick comment which is that this war has been sold to us. So hard. And we were told that this war was to stand up for democracy. And yet, Zelensky has canceled elections, has banned opposition parties and has shut down alternative media and imprisoned war resistors. We have been told over and over again that this war was not about NATO. It was only about Russian aggression. But yet now, Jan Stoltenberg, the head of NATO, has said this war is about NATO and we provoked Russia. Jan Stoltenberg, the head of NATO, said this, you can look it up. We have been sold a bill of lies to believe that war is always the answer and we have to resist that and fight for peace. Thank you. I think we should, the sun is blaring down and some of us have planned to block Cherry Street and we're gonna go block Cherry Street. Our message is that this is very serious and serious enough to really make a little resistance. And I would say we're brave because this is a complicated war but so is the war in Yemen. That's a complicated war. And so is a number of other wars. So is our troops who are economically, they get healthcare from being in the military. We have 800 bases around the world. We have 10 times as many bases easily than China and Russia. So we need to resist this. So we're gonna march in a few minutes after we collect ourselves down to the street and those who are willing to sit with us in the street. You're welcome to do that. If not, please support us and we enjoy it today. It's hot out here. So I guess that's it for our press conference. Yes, Nancy, you wanna say something? Go ahead, here's Nancy. My name is Nancy Rice from Randolph Center and I just want to say something about the nuclear weapons which Russia and the US have around 5,000 each. And it's been a long time since the human missile strike crisis but I was in college at that time. It was on a Friday. I had three hour exams on Monday. I didn't know whether I should bother studying for them or not. But years later, I found out that there was a Russian submarine commander named Vasily Arkapov who essentially saved us for these last 60 some years. He refused to send out a nuclear tip torpedo and that was a big part of helping end the missile crisis. We didn't find out about that till years later but he was a brave man and I thank him for my last 60 years. Thank you. Anybody too hot? I was, Louise is sitting down. But thank you all for doing this. It's one of those steps forward that does help us realize that we also have another foot. One of the things that has always been with me through my life for some reason is that there's another way. What we've seen in newsletters or newspapers that are honest today is, you know what? There's something else to say for Ukraine. And she said, I'm from Ukraine. Can you put yourself in those feet? Daughter-in-law who had a wonderful time visiting Moscow. Can you put yourself in that seat? Well, when I was a kid during the Second World War, my brother used to get really teet off with this little brat. And on one occasion, when my two cousins weren't there living with us to defend me, he started to choke me. Well, we had a neighbor who was like that lady in Ukraine, a very big, large woman, very friendly. You always found candies at Halloween. And she yelled over and said, David and Dick, what are you doing? Well, my brother stopped one person's voice. One person's voice. As leaders, we get into a mindset that we can't take anymore. And I agree, every leader needs a good vacation. Whatever that leader says, help, I need to get out of here. Peace is not easy, and it is our task from the day we are born. But it takes some of us a long time and some never to realize it. We get leaders, yes. And now we have concerned leaders. We have upset leaders. We have elephants. We have tigers. We have ferocious responses. And you and I are taught to look out. If you walk off the curb, a bus might be coming. So fear is not bad, but what we are in is a world that loves to magnify fear. Notice Armistice Day, will you? What was done to Armistice Day? Did we gain from meetings through the years? What was done with Mother's Day? Have you looked into that? What was done with Mother's Day? Mother's Day, where are the mothers of this world? Why are you not all protesting in Washington, DC right now? Asking for one of the grandest mothers in the world to be honored again and consequently take a step toward peace. 140 countries have signed and sponsored legally required to not have nuclear weapons. The only countries that have not signed a treaty, major nuclear weapons countries, because they tell us that's how problems are resolved. Well, they can get anything they want that way. And we know that that's not right. But we also know that we have the law on our side now. So I'm going to be a little late. Due to the good work of people who have bought some nuclear weapons for many years. Someone want to hand out some leaflets to the cars that are waiting. Do you have any leaflets, Jeff? We have some. We're doing it on our own, man. Watch yourself, fuck man. Hey, joint leader, what is your deal for joint leader? Why should I? Why should I? That's great. Why do you like to talk about that? Do you like to talk about this? No. You're saying you're going to get in the way? I don't know you. Why do you want to talk about this? Why don't you join me? Thank you, I see you. Yeah, right. I'm just reading another article about a law in the 12th grade. Why is someone like this? I don't know what she's talking about. She's talking about a new law. She's talking about a new law. She's talking about a new law, too. Well, she's talking about this. That's fair. But the premise that someone who's been set free from this is right, is about fighting out for the security. The premise was that when they're sort of in this high position, very successful, and then they get brought down. Knock yourselves out of this, okay? We have a license social worker in Vermont, and we're veterans. I'm sure that we could... We have emergency services. We have plenty of other issues around the city that you could probably help with, sir. Many of the veterans in this country have super high suicide rates, and their healthcare is very dilapidated. So we all are dealing with emergencies. And thank you for being straight with us.