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This portion of the website is meant to be an historical database where letters written by Coalition members are recorded. There exists a diversity of opinions within the Coalition, making us a remarkably dynamic group of people. These letters attest to the uniqueness of our individual characters.
I was thrilled to read of Bryan Nelson of New Brunswick in the April 16 Home News Tribune story "War Against Taxes" and his patriotic and ethical stand to continue withholding a portion of his federal income taxes from being used to fund the illegal war in Iraq and donating the money to help people in Gaza. As a military officer and veteran I was proud to read about activists who have the guts to put their money where their mouth is when standing up for the Constitution and the rule of law. We cannot rely upon corrupt and corporate politicians to do what is legal and right, let alone end the ongoing illegal war of aggression that has been based on lies, continues to be promoted with lies and robs us of our money, security and the lives of exploited troops. The American people have to take back our country and it starts by choosing to stop paying for illegal actions. People can protest and holler all they want, but if they pay all their taxes, they are feeding a deaf monster that will continue to kill innocent people in their name. Chad Hetman EAST BRUNSWICK - click here to go back to top - Published in Home News Tribune 11/16/2007 I have observed the slimy nature of politics for 40 years. I have never considered the Democrats to be anything but Republican-lite. Yet to see Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., cave in and support the nomination of Attorney General Michael Mukasey was to me the lowest moment in U.S. politics to date. To hear these two squirm and justify and rationalize with no embarrassment was an embarrassment to me as an American citizen. Feinstein doesn't deny that Mukasey's refusal to take a stand against waterboarding is cause for concern, but apparently a bigger concern is the lack of leadership at the Justice Department. Read her testimony to see the verbal gymnastics she goes through to rationalize this. Likewise for Senator Schumer, the most important issue is not torture, not the image of the United States abroad, not the safety of captured U.S. soldiers, but "having a strong and independent leader." Shame, shame on both of you! On the other hand, Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., surprised this jaded cynic. He was fierce and eloquent: "We are supposed to find comfort in the representation by a nominee to the highest law-enforcement office in the country that he will, in fact, enforce the laws that we pass in the future? Can our standards really have sunk so low?" I think I'll write Kennedy in for president. Ellen Rosner Published in the Home News Tribune October 14, 2007 It is crucial to have forums for the exchange of ideas, not insults. This is especially important in these times when our government is moving ever closer to attacking Iran while continuing to occupy Iraq. We all need to call on our elected representatives and urge them to enact legislation to end this war. And we need to tell them and tell President Bush not to invade or attack Iran, or engage in any activity that could lead to a widening of military action. Please, get involved and take action to stop and prevent needless war, and make our world a safer place to live. Dorothy Schwartz
Warrantless wiretaps are illegal: Impeach the whole crew Warrantless wiretaps are illegal: Impeach the whole crew Published in the Home News Tribune February 28th, 2006 According to the figures I have seen, the secret Federal Internal Security Court has granted approximately 30,000 secret warrants since it was set up. In the same period, it denied somewhere between one and 10 applications (I've seen various numbers in the press). With a court that cooperative, why does George Bush and his administration insist that they have to bypass the court for national security? There is only one possible reason: The court would deny the wiretapping or search warrants as being illegal. Why would they be illegal? They would be illegal for the same reason that the court was set up in the first place, back in 1978. President Nixon and his administration were snooping on political enemies. The court was set up so that there would be no excuse for secret, unauthorized snooping. The court was set up so that secret investigations could be specifically authorized for authentic national security purposes, but would be otherwise totally forbidden. The Bush administration is bypassing the court because their investigations have nothing to do with national security. They are being done for partisan political purposes, and are crimes. Wiretaps are absolutely forbidden by law unless authorized by some court, somewhere. George Bush has confessed to crimes and impeachable offenses. Vice President Cheney and Attorney General Gonzales have confessed to the same crimes. They should all be impeached immediately, and then tried for their criminal acts, because impeachment only removes them from office. Stephen J Spiro METUCHEN Set wheels in motion to impeach president LARRY ROMSTED Home News Tribune Online 02/22/06 Be Counted column President Bush recently admitted that he directed the National Security Agency, or NSA, to wiretap hundreds and perhaps thousands of U.S. citizens making international calls without permission of the FISA court. This act is in direct violation of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, passed by Congress in 1978. When the president breaks the law he fails in his constitutional responsibility "to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." His failure to obey the law is but one of the "high crimes and misdemeanors" committed by the Bush administration that constitute a substantial case for impeachment. The stated reasons for invading Iraq are almost certainly a fraud perpetrated on the people of this country and the world. Before the United States invasion of Iraq, then Secretary of State Colin Powell gave three justifications for invading Iraq in his presentation to the United Nations on why Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi military were a threat to world peace: (a) Saddam Hussein was collaborating with al-Qaida, whose members had flown passenger jets into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York; (b) Iraq was purchasing yellow cake uranium to build nuclear weapons; and (c) the Iraqi military had chemical and biological weapons. These justifications have been proved false. Since then, the once secret "Downing Street memo" from the British prime minister's office demonstrates that the Tony Blair and Bush/Dick Cheney administrations were shaping the intelligence used to justify the invasion. The chief of British intelligence was quoted in the memo as saying, in part: "Military action was now seen as inevitable. Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy." In plain English, Bush and many members of his administration told the American people and the world a whopping lie with horrendous consequences. Thousands of U.S. soldiers have been killed and maimed, tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians have died, much of the Iraqi infrastructure lies in tatters, and hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars have been wasted that would be better spent on urgent domestic and international social services such as Hurricane Katrina, health care and AIDS. Other "high crimes and misdemeanors" include the torture of prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and at Guantanimo Bay in Cuba in violation of the Geneva Conventions on the treatment of prisoners. President Bush also failed to care for the people and city of New Orleans before and after Katrina. Warnings were clear and plans were available for preparing New Orleans for a Category 5 hurricane. Funding for rebuilding the city is woefully inadequate (the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are expensive), and the emergency financial housing support for the people of New Orleans scattered around the country is about to run out. They have no place to go. The racism underlying these acts is palpable. Impeachments are doable. We have had two in recent history. President Nixon was impeached for the serious crime of lying about his knowledge of the break-in at the Democratic Party headquarters at the Watergate Hotel. He resigned before the hearing in the Senate. President Clinton was impeached for lying about his affair with Monica Lewinsky. The Senate voted against Clinton's removal. Congress impeached President Nixon when public pressure became overwhelming. Recent polls indicate that a majority of the public believes that President Bush should be impeached if he lied to the public about the justification for the invasion of Iraq. Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., has laid the groundwork for the impeachment process by organizing and releasing a Dec. 20, 273-page report produced by the House Judiciary Committee's Democratic staff entitled: "The Constitution in Crisis; the Downing Street Minutes and Deception, Manipulation, Torture, Retribution and Coverups in the Iraq War." This report is the basis for House Resolution HR 635, calling for the formation of a select committee to conduct an investigation and make recommendations on grounds for impeachment. You can learn about the issues, the organizations supporting impeachment, groups you can join, and how you can support Conyers' efforts. Just type "Impeach Bush" into your favorite Web browser and choose one of the many links. Help build a movement to put public pressure our congressional representatives so that they, too, will see the impeachment of President Bush and perhaps other members of his administration for "high crimes and misdemeanors" as the wise course of action. Be Counted columnist Larry Romstead can be reached at romsted@rutchem.rutgers.edu Untitled The following Letter to the Editor was Printed in the Courier-News, Central New Jersey, 11 Jan 2006 Printed in the Home-News-Tribune, Central New Jersey, 16 Jan 2006 Printed in the Trenton Times, 16 January 2006 Printed in the Herald News, North Jersey, 14 Jan 2006 There have been a number of letters recently, here and in other newspapers, from people who assert that we are at war, the enemy is relentless, and we must use every means in our power to protect ourselves. In particular, they say, it is worthwhile to allow “illegal” wiretaps and other abridgements of our so-called civil liberties in order to protect ourselves. These same people are enthusiastic supporters of sending off our young men and women to kill and to die in order to protect us against “enemies of freedom”. Why is it all right for these brave young people to sacrifice their lives, their health, their youth for our freedoms, while others want to give up those very freedoms to save their own lives? These people are cowards and traitors, and deserve the utter contempt of their neighbors and of every decent American. Stephen J Spiro Edison She's a liberal and proud of it Published in the Home News Tribune January 7th, 2006 In a letter to the editor, Barbara Skokan writes in horror of "radical left-wingers" and "liberalism unraveling the very fabric of our nation." Since I am one of those terroristic liberals of whom she writes, let me point out a few things. First, I am proud to be a liberal, which means, as defined in Funk and Wagnalls, that I "favor progress . . . (I am) not intolerant or prejudiced, and characterized by generosity." Skokan makes many assumptions that are doubtful or downright incorrect. While I am not a member of PETA, I doubt that the members did not care about flight attendants who "had their throats slit." I am, however, a member of a coalition of people who are very concerned about the occupation of Iraq and the ever-increasing confiscation of our own civil liberties by the current Republican administration. Skokan talks of rules our country was handed, and I presume she is referring to the Constitution. Yet it is the Bush administration who is breaking these rules in many ways, the most recent being bypassing the FISA court in ordering spying on U.S. citizens. As a liberal, I would like to tell Skokan what I do and what I believe in. I am a psychiatric nurse, in practice for 40 years. My primary concern in this profession is to alleviate the suffering of those for whom I provide care. That includes a concern that all persons regardless of income, color or religion have access to the same standard of care. If that is a "liberal" value, I am proud to be a liberal. In my spare time, for the past several years, I have engaged in anti-war activities. I participate in a weekly vigil with an unfortunately ever-growing wall that memorializes all the American soldiers and some of the Iraqi women and children killed in the Iraq war and occupation. I participate in a group that seeks to educate parents and teenagers about their right to privacy in not having the teenagers' information automatically given to military recruiters in the schools. I give community members information about the illegality and immorality of the war in Iraq, and information about the Bush administration's attempts to strip us of our civil liberties. In terms of our own safety, Iraq has provided a wonderful recruitment tool for those who do wish to do us harm; we are far less safe because of Bush and his administration's policies and actions. Dorothy Schwartz PISCATAWAY Students can block military solicitation Published in the Asbury Park Press on November 14th, 2005 Military recruiters are consistently failing to meet their recruitment quotas. In some cases, this has resulted in their turning to dirty tricks. Buried in the No Child Left Behind Act is a provision requiring all high schools receiving federal funds to turn over students' contact information to military recruiters upon request. Recruiters then use this list of names, addresses and phone numbers to solicit students to join the military. The high schools are required to notify students and their parents that they may opt-out from this process and protect their privacy. However, high school opt-out procedures vary from district to district. Students and parents often are unaware their private information is being given away for recruitment purposes. Recently, pamphlets, prepared by concerned adults, have been placed in several public places to educate students and parents of their right to opt-out. In two cases, recruiters were observed removing those pamphlets. It is an outrage that recruiters are trying to keep this provision of the No Child Left Behind Act under wraps. But with more than 2,000 U.S. soldiers killed in an unjust and immoral war, it is no wonder they are failing to meet their recruitment goals. America's high school students are more than just potential recruits. They are our best hope for a just and peaceful future. Don't we owe it to them, at the very least, to inform them of their right to decide who can have access to their private information? Students may choose not to have their information released to the military, but in a country where soldiers are sent to war based on lies, who could blame them? Gloria Pfeifer MANCHESTER Ignoring Peace Rally Published in the Star Ledger October 11, 2005 I traveled to Washington, D.C., on Sept. 23-24 to spend the weekend attending the anti-war demonstration and other activities including meetings on Sunday and a nonviolent direct action at the White House on Monday. I know of at least 20 buses from New Jersey that traveled on Saturday to the mass protest, many of my friends went by bus or car, and the D.C. police -- notorious for underestimating anti-war crowds by half -- even said there were at least 150,000 people there on Saturday. On Monday, 370 people were arrested, from a crowd of 1,000, at the White House. So what I want to know is this: Why did The Star-Ledger devote more column inches to a small pro-war rally that drew maybe 30 more people than the number arrested on Monday? Ironically, I and several other anti-war folks visited the pro-war rally, so we probably ended up being counted among them. And why didn't The Star-Ledger cover any of the anti-war groups from New Jersey that ran buses to the demonstration? It's not like you didn't know about it. Considering that polls now show that more than half the country thinks the Iraq war was a mistake (indeed, quite a few believe it's much worse than a mistake), and that we outnumbered the pro-war folks by a factor of 250 (at minimum), what were you thinking? -- Leigh Davis, Hillside Disaster relief came from Camp Casey Published in the Home News Tribune September 17, 2005 Joyce Barbara of Edison denounced Cindy Sheehan and the Bring Them Home Now Tour for wasting money instead of helping the victims of Katrina. Actually, a bus planning to tour the Southern states loaded up with all of the leftover supplies (more than a ton) outside Bush's ranch, and ended the tour in the devastated community of Covington, La., joining the Louisiana Activist Network, where initially they were the only relief, and where their satellite uplink Internet connection was the only working communications from the town. The Veterans for Peace chapter in California's Mendocino County organized schools, churches and other good people to load up several trucks and vans with supplies to Covington, and then went national to ask for contributions to pay for gasoline for the trucks and food for the drivers. A partial report on the effort was printed in the Fort Bragg Advocate-News on Sept.8. Ms. Barbara assumes that people who disagree with her on an important issue must be heartless demons, with no good intentions for anything. She is wrong. The peace movement is made up of decent people who care about victims everywhere, whether they be collateral damage in Iraq or victims of natural disasters in Indonesia or Louisiana. Stephen J Spiro METUCHEN Published in the Cranford Eagle on August 10, 2005 The Real Shortcomings of the Baby-boomers The Union County Peace Council appreciates the kind words about our peace and friendship fair (NJ Peace Action was a co-sponsor) in the August 10 editorial on the teenagers who were charged with criminal mischief involving spray paint. We were gratified to see the enthusiastic turnout and participation in what was intended not only to commemorate the atomic bombings of Japan 60 years ago, and to protest violence and war, but also to promote a culture of peace. In fact, not only were some of the teens mentioned in attendance the day of the fair—which we discovered in speaking with a few of them as we were cleaning up after the day's events—but they stayed the entire afternoon, listened to speakers and music, collected literature, spoke with exhibitors, drummed during the drum circle, and were overall polite and friendly. Reading the editorial, which suggested they could learn something from the Peace Council, caused me to think about why it is that they do not understand how to draw attention to their cause. Did their high school U.S. History course teach them about America's inspiring history of protest? Which elements of our history are they more familiar with—our wars or the abolition, women's suffrage and liberation, labor, civil rights, antinuclear, and peace movements? They can take courses in fine and commercial art, but do they learn about how art has historically been used to promote not just commercial messages but intellectual and political messages? Those of us who have participated in the politics of dissent would be happy to offer a school program on its history. What about a section on art as a medium for social commentary? It seems unless particular teachers take it upon themselves to add these important dimensions of our history to the standard curriculum, they get glancing attention at best. So should we be surprised when young folks don't have a context for their attempts at expressing a viewpoint? And what context have we as parents provided? Perhaps we need to take a closer look at their message about "the shortcomings of the baby-boomer generation," which they don't even realize is indeed a political message. It has historically been the role of the scapegoat to point to what is wrong in a family or society. We—the baby-boom generation—are these 19-year-olds' parents. We—the parents of Cranford—raised them. What have we taught them about self- and political expression? What have they learned from the larger society about how to treat the lives and property of others? Two-and-a-half years ago, our country invaded another country that was no threat to us. The invasion and subsequent occupation destroyed the infrastructure of a modern Arab country and has resulted in the deaths of almost 2000 American soldiers and upwards of 100,000 Iraqi people. We have left an entire country contaminated virtually forever with a radioactive substance—depleted uranium (DU)—that has caused hundreds of percents increases in birth defects, childhood leukemia, and breast cancer among the Iraqi population. Meanwhile, young people like the members of Interior Decorating have been recruited right from places like Cranford High School into a military that is hungry for young bodies that can be sent to Iraq where if they are not killed by a roadside bomb, they have a good chance of coming home with life-shattering wounds, post-traumatic stress syndrome, perhaps memories of having killed a family or witnessing torture, or as a result of exposure to DU, passing birth defects on to their own children or a shortened lifespan for themselves. This is the world the baby-boomers have bequeathed the next generation: We have squandered the good will of most of the world with a war of aggression; likewise, we have squandered the gains and legacy of the civil rights movement with the racist and oppressive PATRIOT Act, reversals of affirmative action, and a general climate of fear and hatred toward Muslims, Arabs, and brown-skinned people generally; we stand by and watch as our government turns our language inside out with the Clear Skies Initiative and Healthy Forests Restoration Act, which actually leave our air dirtier and no tree uncut, and the No Child Left Behind Act, which leaves no child unrecruited by the military; we've allowed the excesses of the "me" generation to culminate in a consumer culture with a figurative and literal eating disorder of monstrous proportions, which depends on our continued exploitation of the resources rightly belonging to others and of underage workers in underdeveloped countries; we allow our history to be erased and rewritten, creating an Orwellian acceptance of the lies and spin of a corrupt government and a compromised media without so much as a blink of an eye or a flinch of our collective conscience. As a town, we are angry at how much it will cost to clean up some spray paint. Yet we dutifully pay our taxes into a system that has become a money-laundering scheme funneling support away from social programs and into the pockets of a small elite who benefit grandly from a tax cut that has created an unprecedented national debt, which will take generations to pay back, not to mention the hundred billion plus spent so far on a war that cannot be won and which is stealing lives from the very generation to which our young spray painters belong. I am reminded of the young person who, having recently signed up for the military at the newly opened recruiting station in Somerville, was quoted as saying, "I want to blow things up." He will likely get a send-off party and maybe a glowing account of his patriotism in his local paper as he deploys for Iraq. How would his choices, or the choices of our "immature artists" be different if groups that promoted alternatives to violence and war, who offer students information on college programs in peace studies, alternative ways to fund college, careers in peace or social justice, or adventure work that doesn't involve killing others, had the same taxpayer funding and access as the military to our high school students? How would our world be different? And how can our generation model the most important lesson of all: to admit when we're wrong? Leigh Davis Published in the Home News Tribune August 31, 2005
We are strong, with numbers that are large Fearful folks, like two recent letter writers, who are not willing to walk up and ask those of us opposed to the war in Iraq directly who we are or what we think may draw conclusions based on their own paranoia. Their need to minimize the impact of the 60 percent of the country who are opposed to the war is belied by attempts on the one hand to characterize a 180-person vigil as "pathetic" and on the other hand, to bizarrely characterize our membership as some monolithic, anti-American conspiracy. What is the question indeed? Yes, many of us attended vigils after 9/11, long before this particular anti-Iraq war group existed. (Did Ms. Gold?) We have World Trade Center survivors among our numbers. No, we are not an affiliate of MoveOn.org, which, far from being far-left, is actually a fairly mainstream organization with a huge online membership. We are a local, independent group founded in response to concerns we shared in the run-up to the U.S. invasion of Iraq. I wonder if certain letter writers have their own agenda they are attempting to advance by casting aspersions on the good intentions of our membership. We are a group with a diverse range of opinions on various issues who came together to oppose the war on Iraq and the attacks on civil liberties in America. Since our membership also includes veterans and the Iraq Memorial Wall is a memorial to U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq, it is obvious that we support our troops and want them to come home in one piece, and preferably not in a body bag. I'm sorry that some people misconstrue concern for our fellow humans as hatred, but none of us holds any personal hatred toward any other American — or human — since those would be our family, friends, neighbors, coworkers and fellow humans. We're actually a pretty loving, friendly bunch. But you'd only know that if you came out and talked to us. We're easy to find: Route 27 near the Albany Street bridge, every Saturday at 11:30 am. Leigh Davis HILLSIDE Published in the Home News Tribune August 28, 2005
Let there be praying, country-western tunes So the secretary of defense has announced a Million Moron March in Washington to "commemorate" the events of 9/11. A parade from the Pentagon to the National Mall, to be followed by — ta-da! — a country-music concert! If you want to mourn the dead and honor the heroes, nearly every faith community in New Jersey will be holding memorial services on Sept. 11. Go to your church or temple or mosque or meeting. Pray for the dead, pray for the survivors, pray for the children growing up in this broken world, and pray for the clueless at their country-music concert. Stephen J. Spiro METUCHEN Published in the Home News Tribune August 23, 2005
Anti-war movement and group is growing We are neighbors, co-workers and worshippers. We are more than 50 percent of the country, and we are growing in numbers and in influence. We want an end to the occupation and our troops home now. Aug. 15 letter writer Abe Krieger asks the question about the Central Jersey Coalition Against Endless War: "Who is this "anti-war' group, how many members do they have, and are they deserving of news coverage?" He scornfully answers by assuming that we are no more than eight people. He's so wrong. We are neighbors, co-workers and worshippers. We are more than 50 percent of the country, and we are growing in numbers and in influence. We want an end to the occupation and our troops home now. The coalition represents hundreds of members throughout the Middlesex County area who support our weekly anti-occupation vigil in Highland Park and the work we have done passing resolutions in many towns against the unconstitutional aspects of the Patriot Act. We oppose the military presence in our high schools and have been working statewide to educate parents and students about their rights to opt out of military recruitment lists required by the No Child Left Behind Act. We are peace-loving people who do not feel that the war in Iraq has brought us anything but more violence and insecurity worldwide. Look for our coalition in Washington, D.C., this Sept. 24, joining with hundreds of thousands of people from around the country to demand a sane, safer and more just future for all peoples of the world. We will be there. Tina Weishaus HIGHLAND PARK Published in the Star-Ledger August 20, 2005
Get your focus back on the real bad guys In your article on Aug. 10, you quoted Capt. Steve Serrao, assistant director for operations of the state Office of Counter-Terrorism. I find Captain Serrao's explanation completely unacceptable. Why, in this case, was an individual suspected of criminal mischief treated like a terrorist? Aside from the violations of civil liberties, including the innocent landlord who had an assault rifle pointed at him and his family, this is a gross waste of taxpayer money. If the State Police waste resources in such a profligate manner, how do they expect us to believe they will competently protect us from the real terrorists? James Fusco EAST BRUNSWICK Published in the Home News Tribune August 16, 2005
Plenty of blood spilled but not a drop of oil George W. Bush has once again reaffirmed his stance on the war on Iraq, despite the recent drop of his handling of the war to a low 38 percent. "They're terrorists, and they're killers . . . so they can impose their dark vision on the world." In reality, it is the Bush administration that has imposed this dark vision through lies of weapons of mass destruction and nuclear mushroom clouds on the Congress and the American people. This week alone has left us with two dozen dead American soldiers and to many of us, this war is looking like another Vietnam. While Dick Cheney's ten million dollars of Halliburton stock go up, more than a dozen Marines from the state of Ohio are dead. To Cheney, it doesn't matter who's blood gets spilled, as long as corporate profits rise. I feel outrage over the direction this country has taken and have had enough of the lies and corporate greed that dominate our way of life. I urge all other outraged citizens to stand up to this corporate oligarchy and denounce this war and its perpetrators by giving them a clear message in all subsequent elections: vote them out! Bruno Corry EDISON Published in the Home News Tribune August 13, 2005
Let freedom ring, anti-war voices sing How gratifying to see Home News Tribune coverage of our dramatic reading of the Downing Street minutes on July 28 outside your offices. As much as we would like our performance to be the main event, we were really only supposed to be the opening act. You, Home News Tribune, you were cast in the lead role. We are now back in the wings, sweaty and exhilarated from our brief performance, but the stage has been left bare. There is an awkward silence — the orchestra is confused. When will you step out into the limelight and, through an in-depth analysis, let the truth of the Downing Street minutes sing out to the world? The minutes tell a compelling story about our leaders' motives in the run-up to the Iraq invasion and expose impeachable offenses and their fear of committing war crimes. You can't get much juicier than that! Give your fine young reporters the career-boosting aria of their dreams! If you rise to this occasion, your audience, your readership, your staff will be brought to new heights. Do it for the applause. Do it for our country. Mary Walworth Central Jersey Coalition Against Endless War Published in the Asbury Park Press August 3rd, 2005
Getting the facts straight on military recruiting You have printed some material recently, including in your editorials, about Section 9528 of the No Child Left Behind Act, which requires schools to give contact information about their students to military recruiters. In one piece, you said that parents may opt out, by notifying the government that they do not wish their children to be contacted. That is not correct. They must notify, in writing, the principal or the Board of Education, that they do not wish their children's contact information to be given to military recruiters. Another piece in your newspaper said that students at least 18 years old could opt out themselves. That is true, but not complete: Any student can opt out. Section 9528(a)(2) says ""A secondary-school student or the parent of the student may request that the student's . . . listing . . . not be released without prior written parental consent." It is not necessary to send a letter. Simple forms are available from a number of organizations. Anyone desiring such a form may get one by e-mailing SpiroCatholicPeaceFellowshipNJ@hotmail.com. Notification may be sent to the school at any time and remains in effect until rescinded or the student graduates. Stephen J. Spiro Catholic Peace Fellowship METUCHEN Published in the Star-Ledger July 12th, 2005
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