The Case For Conversion -- Because #ClimateEmergency Is Not Going Away

Channeling Senator Susan Collins and her many corporate sponsors outside BIW in Bath prior to my arrest April 1, 2017

My husband and I and many friends have been arrested at General Dynamics' Bath Iron Works war ship factory multiple times protesting the celebration of wasteful, carbon-belching weapons of mass destruction.

Current rap sheet for Mark and me:

Aegis 9 group just prior to our arrest

April 1, 2017 Aegis 9 arrested and charged with criminal trespass. Acquitted February 1, 2018 by Justice Dan Billings  prior to jury deliberations, on the grounds that the state failed to make their case.

LBJ 25 group with supporters just after our arrest

April 27, 2019 LBJ 25 arrested and charged with obstructing a public way. Charges dropped by (new) Sagadahoc County District Attorney Natasha Irving.

In handcuffs after blocking a bus headed for a war ship celebration at Bath Iron Works on June 22

June 22, 2019 Inouye 22 arrested and charged with obstructing a public way. Awaiting mail from DA Irving notifying us that obstructing a public way charges have been dropped in favor of -- jaywalking! Our understanding is that a $150 fine will have to be paid or we will risk losing our drivers license. Ongoing legal strategizing on how to respond is still in process.


The publicity generated by our risking arrest is the point.

Because when we convene a news conference to lay out the case for conversion of Maine's military-industrial capacity to address climate emergency, corporate media and elected officials pay very little attention.



If the embedded video of our news conference does not work for you, here's a link to the video on YouTube: Climate Crisis Demands Conversion, Press Conference.

A Green New Deal that fails to address the Pentagon's enormous greenhouse gas emissions will not be successful. 

This is an inconvenient truth that is unaffected by Pentagon propaganda, or the refusal to count military emissions as part of the climate problem.

I will continue working to get the word out, before climate catastrophe overtakes us all.

Recently I was interviewed by Mutiny FM, an internet radio station out of San Francisco. (Big thanks to Inouye 22 member Sadie Fulton for arranging this!) You can hear host Roman Rimer interview with me beginning around the 27 minute mark in the archived podcast.

And, also this week, I did an interview for Bruce Gagnon's This Issue show on local access television about the urgent need for conversion. Please listen to our discussion and join in.



If the embedded video of Bruce's show does not work for you, here's a link to the video on YouTube: This Issue with Lisa Savage.


Climate emergency is not going away. We must all pull together, and soon.

Logan Perkins: The #1stAmendment Is Alive And Well In The State Of Maine

Defense Attorney Logan Perkins celebrates with Aegis 9 defendants in Bath following dismissal of their charges February 1.

AEGIS DEFENDANTS CRIMINAL TRESPASS CHARGES DISMISSED AS JUDGE FINDS 1st AMENDMENT PROHIBITS EXCLUDING PUBLIC FROM PUBLIC EVENTS SOLELY ON THE BASIS OF POLITICAL SPEECH

Bath, Maine -- The Aegis 9 trial ended abruptly today with charges dismissed after the State of Maine failed to prove to Justice Dan Billings' satisfaction that they met the reasonable doubt standard to justify the arrests of nine "concerned citizens" engaged in peaceful protest on April 1, 2017.

Defense attorney Logan Perkins of Belfast, Maine said, “ "The 1st Amendment is alive and well in the State of Maine, and I appreciate that the court was willing to hold the Bath Police Department to the standards contained in the U.S. Constitution."

Perkins represented three of the defendants and advised the remaining six. She moved to have charges dismissed for Jason Rawn on the basis that he did not have a reasonable time to comply with police orders to leave BIW property before being arrested based on video submitted as state’s evidence at the trial. Perkins moved to have charges dismissed for the other defendants based on the fact that other members of the public present in the same space were not arrested. Justice Billings granted both motions.

On April 1 the nine had gathered with about 20 other people to protest the “christening” of an Aegis destroyer ship at BIW and were arrested by Bath Police officers on the orders of General Dynamics. Justice Billings, who was appointed to the bench in 2012 by Governor Paul LePage after serving as his general counsel, commented during the trial that it appeared the Bath Police Department was outsourced to BIW and, “That is not how it is supposed to work. The city has to consider the bigger picture." He also said, "The police do not have unfettered discretion."

Three attempts by the state prosecutor to have prior convictions for protesting at General Dynamics’ BIW entered into evidence were denied by Justice Billings. He cited the issue that the state had moved to join the cases of all nine defendants when they were arraigned; it was Billings' opinion that knowing of prior convictions for some defendants might prejudice the jury against all the defendants. He instructed the jury that the defendants should be presumed innocent until proven guilty, with the burden of proof falling on the state.

The Aegis 9:

Bob Dale – Brunswick, VFP former Navy pilot

Bruce Gagnon – Bath, Veterans For Peace (VFP) & Global Network Against Nuclear Power & Weapons in Space

Natasha Mayers – Whitefield, Artist

Jason Rawn – Lincolnville, war tax resister

Mark Roman – Solon, Woodworker

Lisa Savage – Solon, teacher

Jessica Stewart – Bass Harbor, Catholic Worker activist

Mike Tork – Cape Cod, MA, VFP former Navy Vietnam vet

Russell Wray – Hancock, Artist

Defendant and Bath resident Bruce Gagnon was previously convicted of obstructing a public way for blocking the road in front of General Dynamics’ BIW. Gagnon was sentenced to community service for that conviction.

Earlier in the week, Gagnon and defendants Mark Roman and Jason Rawn testified to the Joint Standing Committee on Taxation of the Maine legislature in opposition to LD 1781. The bill proposes to give General Dynamics’ Bath Iron Works a $60 million tax giveaway over the next twenty years.

At the public hearing Gagnon said, “We call for the end of Maine taxpayer subsidies to the General Dynamics Corporation, the 5th largest weapons contractor in the world, as owner of BIW. They’ve used past Maine subsidies -- $200 million since 1997 -- to mechanize the operation which has led to job loss. Additionally, General Dynamics has used the money to buy back their own stocks driving market value higher.” A work session on the bill is scheduled for February 6.

Defendant Roman, a member of the Maine Natural Guard, said: “I cannot stand by and watch our national treasury depleted building expensive, destructive war machines while climate change threatens the future of human life.

“My grandchildren need me to stand up and say that building weapons of mass destruction does not increase security but it does drive climate change and waste money that could be spent on education, health care and housing for the 40,000 children in Maine living in poverty today.” ##

Nine Arrested On Orders Of General Dynamics On Trial Feb 1-2 Bath, Maine #Aegis9

MEDIA ADVISORY: NINE DEFENDANTS ARRESTED ON ORDERS OF GENERAL DYNAMICS’ BATH IRON WORKS ON TRIAL FEB 1 & 2, SAGADAHOC SUPERIOR COURT

Bath, Maine -- The Aegis 9 go to trial February 1-2 at the Sagadahoc County Courthouse in Bath (corner of Centre and High Streets) at 9:00 am.  Defendants and supporters will hold a vigil in front of the courthouse at 7:30 am on Thursday, Feb 1.

To prevail in the trial, the State of Maine will need to prove that the nine protesters were not protected by the 1st amendment on April 1, 2017. The nine had gathered with about 20 other people to protest the “christening” of an Aegis destroyer ship at BIW and were arrested by Bath Police officers on the orders of General Dynamics.

Defendant and Bath resident Bruce Gagnon explained, “Our vision is that BIW be converted to build commuter rail systems, offshore wind turbines, solar and tidal power systems that would help us deal with our real problem – climate change.

We also call for the end to Maine taxpayer subsidies to the General Dynamics Corporation, the 5th largest weapons contractor in the world, as owner of BIW.  They’ve used past Maine subsidies -- $200 million since 1997 -- to mechanize the operation which has led to job loss.  Additionally General Dynamics has used the money to buy back their own stocks driving market value higher.”

The Aegis 9:

Bob Dale – Brunswick, VFP former Navy pilot

Bruce Gagnon – Bath, Veterans For Peace (VFP) & Global Network Against Nuclear Power & Weapons in Space

Natasha Mayers – Whitefield, Artist

Jason Rawn – Lincolnville, war tax resister

Mark Roman – Solon, Woodworker

Lisa Savage – Solon, teacher

Jessica Stewart – Bass Harbor, Catholic Worker activist

Mike Tork – Cape Cod, MA, VFP former Navy Vietnam vet

Russell Wray – Hancock, Artist

Supporters will hold a pot luck supper for the Aegis 9 at the Addams-Melman House in Bath (212 Centre St) starting at 5:30 pm.  All are welcome to attend.

On Feb. 2 during the second day of trial the jury will hear arguments from six pro se defendants -- Dale, Gagnon, Mayers, Rawn, Roman and Wray -- and attorney Logan Perkins of Belfast representing Savage, Stewart and Tork. Both Savage and Stewart are also expected to testify.

The arrests last April generated wide news coverage in Maine:

Twelve arrests outside BIW christening Saturday

Wiscasset Newspaper

They were protesting an event at BIW for the christening of the USS Monsoor, a DDG 1001 Zumwalt Class Naval Ship, being built at the ...

12 protesters arrested outside USS Michael Monsoor destroyer ...

WGME

Protesters arrested at gates of BIW before christening ceremony

Times Record

Protesters arrested outside destroyer christening at BIW

Bangor Daily News

“I cannot stand by and watch our national treasury depleted building expensive, destructive war machines while climate change threatens the future of human life,” said defendant Roman, a member of the Maine Natural Guard.

“My grandchildren need me to stand up and say that building weapons of mass destruction does not increase security but it does drive climate change and waste money that could be spent on education, health care and housing for the 40,000 children in Maine living in poverty today.”

FMI 399-7623

##

-- 

Lisa Savage
Went 2 the Bridge blog

Take the Natural Guard pledge 

to connect the dots between 

militarism and environmental harm.

#Aegis9 Defendant Jason Rawn To Taxation Committee: Mainers Do Not Want Or Need Corporate Rule

From a dear member of my #Aegis9 trial family, Jason Rawn, who took time to be in Augusta yesterday and deliver his remarks to the Joint Standing Committee on Taxation. Jason was also quoted in the Portland Press Herald's "balanced" report on the hearing which gave a lot of air time to a corporate employee that would directly benefit from the legislation.

This is my testimony given in a hearing at the State House today re Corporate Welfare Tax Scam bill LD 1781, a $60 million gift WMD corporation General Dynamics is trying to coerce from Maine taxpayers. Peace.

Good Afternoon. I'm Jason Rawn. I vote in Lincolnville. I'm one of 9 defendants standing trial for First Amendment actions at a "christening" at the GD shipyard in Bath last year.

GD enjoys billions in "taxpayer generosity" every year.

Just last year, GD enjoyed over $12 billion in US "taxpayer generosity."

Additionally, your legislative predecessors (and some of you) have enabled GD to enjoy over $200 million in "taxpayer generosity" from Maine and certain of its communities over the years.

Additionally, CT, RI, and KY legislators have enabled GD to coerce millions more in "taxpayer generosity" from their states over the years.

Additionally, just as in this very room GD advocates are attempting to coerce $60 million MORE in "taxpayer generosity" from Mainers, so are GD and their operatives in the CT legislature attempting to squeeze $150 million MORE in "taxpayer generosity" from that state.

Far from being some benevolent, All-American corporation proud to provide good jobs for patriotic Americans in return for their "taxpayer generosity," GD operates in 46 different countries; one wonders whether the legislators in the 45 other countries bend over backwards for GD as eagerly as Rep DeChant, Sen Vitelli, and the rest of the proponents of this bill expect you and Maine taxpayers to do?

This bill is not good for Maine.

As one of the poorer states in the Union, we don't have $60 million MORE in "taxpayer generosity" to spare.

We need to invest in healthcare, education, infrastructure, cleaning up the Kennebec after decades of industrial pollution by GD, etc.

I ask you to show some integrity;
show some courage;
show some vision beyond the short-sighted, pre-packaged vision provided by US/corporate war makers.

Mainers do not want or need Corporate Rule.

Not by Nestle, not by GD, not by any of them.

Maine cannot afford this Corporate Welfare Tax Scam bill.

Thank you.

As I was looking for the link to new coverage of Jason's testimony, I stumbled upon this relevant headline in the business section of Maine's largest daily newspaper: "Tax-break recipient Carbonite ships some Maine call center jobs to Jamaica."

General Dynamics/BIW has similarly reduced its work force meanwhile receiving major tax breaks from the state.

I'll finish with this great video interview of retired professor Orland Delogu explaining his view of corporate welfare as it applies to General Dynamics doing business in Maine.

Voices Crying In The Wilderness Of U.S. Collapse: Aegis 9 Go On Trial This Week

Anthony Freda

What have my co-defendants in the Aegis 9 been up to in the weeks since we selected our jury and awaited our trial for criminal trespass, being prosecuted on behalf of mega corporation General Dynamics by the taxpayers of Maine?

Russell Wray

To name a few, Jason Rawn has been flyering to oppose the $60 million Maine payroll tax giveaway that General Dynamics has written for itself and gotten before the Taxation Committee. Mark Roman has been testifying to the Environmental and Natural Resources Committee of the Maine legislature, trying to stop the appointment of a Nestle executive to the Board of Environmental Protection. Bruce Gagnon has been dealing with a hacking attack on his email account and two of his home computers crashing. Natasha Mayers has been fundraising for a documentary about her art activism. Jessica Stewart has been organizing to oppose offshore oil drilling slated for the coast of Maine. 

I don't know what Russell Wray, Mike Tork and Bob Dale have been up to, but I'm confident they have their eyes on the prize of a better life for everybody in the rapidly crumbling USA.

Me, I'm always reading in between teaching school. Oh, and crying out in the wilderness of kleptocracy against the submission of my government to corporate interests.

Here's a partial digest of my Sunday morning reading list (illustrations added by me):

Why We're Underestimating American Collapse: The Strange New Pathologies of the World's First Rich Failed State by Umair Haque. Discusses the latest school shooting (the 11th so far in 2018, which is not quite one month old) in the context of poverty, opioid addiction, and how the richest nation in the world found itself on this desolate path. 

Anthony Freda

Losing Sight: a 4 year old girl was the sole survivor of a US drone strike in Afghanistan and then she disappeared by May Jeong. Uses recently opened archives to examine civilian deaths and their coverups by examining one example of a 2013 (i.e. Obomber administration) drone strike that maimed a young child and removed her from her surviving family.

Homeless man almost crushed after San Diego city workers scooped him up and tossed him in a garbage truck by Jeff McDonald. Examines the policies of a wealthy California city in dealing with the 9,000 homeless people who live there.

Anthony Freda

US, UK Knew of Nazi War Crimes in 1942, Did Nothing: Archive published on teleSUR English. Reveals new evidence of what historians already knew but the passive consumers of WWII war porn in the US still do not, that "individuals within the state department were focusing on the economic relations between the U.S. and West Germany."

Anthony Freda

16 year old Virginia girl's body found 2 weeks after she went missing. Her parents say police treated her like a runaway by Angela Helm. A missing black teenage girl is low priority for many tax-funded public "safety" entities like police departments. #BlackLivesMatter

America's reluctant septuagenarian workforce by Peter Whorisky. Title is self-explanatory: people work into their 70's because they can't afford to live on what remains of the pension system in the U.S.

Anthony Freda

Refrigerator upgrade for Air Force One to Cost $24 million: report by Avery Anapol.

Onward, kleptocracy.

Too Scared To Protest, Or Too Foolish To Be Scared? #Aegis9

I learned with sadness that a former colleague had passed away. In my very first classroom -- an overcrowed trailer in Belgrade, Maine -- my Title I ed tech support for struggling readers was an experienced educator with a warm heart.

As a career change teacher I had a lot of adjusting to do to wrap my head around the often loony world of educating the whole public.

It began the day this ed tech took me aside and complained that a parent volunteer had her 5th grade daughter seated on her lap during reading group and was whispering the answers in the girl's ear.

Many years later I was the literacy coordinator at the district's middle school and my ed tech friend had transferred there as well. She stopped me in the hall to compliment a letter to the editor I had written supporting the importance of protecting Social Security under the W. Bush administration.

She described her own family's reliance on SS after her father passed away while the children were still growing up. I encouraged her to write a letter to the editor because people need to know that. She looked shocked and said that our superintendent "would not appreciate that." I countered that he had never said anything about my letters to the editor, to which her reply was "but that's you."

Apparently my lot in life is to do the things that other people yearn to do, but are too scared to try.

I was raised by parents who encouraged this sort of thinking if not action, and my mother was famous for slapping my father's boss after he pinched her butt at a party. My father laughed as he bragged about it to us children the next day.

 Organizer Toby Blome being arrested for blocking access to Creech Air Base in Nevada October, 2017.

Actually I know many people who have a far more impressive track record than I do of civil disobedience, or civil resistance if you prefer that term. My whole rap sheet consists of one arrest at the White House protesting Obama's continuation of imperial wars (failure to disperse from the fence, fined and released by bored Capitol police honoring my privilege as a white middle class woman). And now being a member of the Aegis 9.

The Aegis 9 were arrrested in an April Fool's Day snowstorm at General Dynamics' Bath Iron Works shipyard.

A director of the school board I work for now tried to block my internal transfer after news of my arrest became public.

The board's lawyers billed some expensive hours explaining to them why they did not want to do that as my right to freedom of expression on my own time was protected by the Constitution.

This turn of events caused the publicity surrounding my case to spread through my union, the Maine Education Association; my school district; and the law firm that represents almost all the school districts in Maine. Not bad for a few hours of my time on April 1.

Many of the Aegis 9 continued to bring their messages to Bath Iron Works during Maine's annual peace walk in October.

But as experienced civil disobedience/resistance defense lawyer Phil Worden reportedly said, the process is the punishment. And we haven't gone to trial yet.

I'm already feeling guilty for leaving my students and current teaching partner in the lurch on November 9 as my presence is required in court for jury selection. 

Those interested in reading more background on our actions and the legal proceedings thus far can use the links on this list. 

Which Side Are You On In The Struggle Against Corporate Government? #Aegis 9

#Aegis9 Video + Corporate And Local News Coverage Of Arrests At Bath Iron Works

Denied Entrance To Warship Christening[sic], #Aegis9 Arrested For Criminal Trespass

Is "Good German" Status Quo The Order Of Our Day? #Aegis9'

It pains me to compare my departed colleague to the "good Germans" who permitted the rise of Nazi government and the Holocaust on their watch.

But I think the comparison is apt. Most Germans weren't Nazis, but they were scared, and their timidity mostly ensured their silent complicity in WWII. The above-linked essay by my co-defendent Jason Rawn does a good job of laying out this argument.

This former Nazi Party member refused to salute Hitler -- at a shipyard in Hamburg in 1936.

If you're in Maine and want to step out of your comfort zone to support the Aegis 9, you can do so in West Bath District Court on November 9 at 8:30am. Our actual trial date will likely be set at that time, and is expected to be either in November or December.

UPDATE: Jury selection was postponsed in November and actually goes forward today, Friday, January 5, 2018 and our trial date is now tentatively Feb 1 & 2, 2018.

Is "Good German" Status Quo The Order Of Our Day? #Aegis9

Jason Rawn leading a Maine Peace Walk in 2014

Today's guest post by civil disobedient Jason Rawn was rejected by the Times Record. A daily paper local to General Dynamics' Bath Iron Works plant, the Times Record customarily publishes a monthly opinion column written by various Peaceworks members. In July the editor refused the submitted piece saying that drawing connections between the present day and the Holocaust is "a bit much." But is it? You be the judge.

Are We The "Good Germans" Now?  

by Jason Rawn 

I'm not sure why, but the bagpipes before the Red Sox game against Toronto over the Independence Day Weekend got me thinking about international law and whether it affects us locally in Midcoast Maine. International law and solidarity help motivate people around the world to work together toward peace and justice. International law, including the Nuremberg Principles, has been a significant motivator of three groups of activists who have demonstrated at BIW for peace and conversion of the so-called "permanent war economy" over the decades.  

On Easter Sunday, March 31, 1991, 5 activists with the Plowshares movement were arrested for "monkey-wrenching" US warmaking at BIW. (Plowshares actions are well-planned nonviolent direct actions that have taken place around the world against warmaking. They often incorporate candles, prayer and other elements of Catholic worship.)  

The 1991 Plowshares action at BIW consisted of hammering and pouring blood on the cruise missile launch systems of the Aegis-equipped USS Gettysburg. They left behind a statement "against the American enslavement to war at the Bath Iron Works." Citing the deaths of thousands of Iraqi people, they left an indictment charging Bush, Cheney, the National Security Council, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff with war crimes. 

 According to the book Swords Into Plowshares: Nonviolent Direct Action for Disarmament, Peace, and Social Justice, after spending nearly two hours in the shipyard and on the warship, the five turned themselves in and were arrested. "After rejecting unsecured bond in court on April 1, all five were released unconditionally on April 3 pending trial by the state of Maine on charges of criminal trespass. Without explanation, the state decided against prosecuting them, and charges were dismissed one day before their scheduled trial."

Jason in straw hat abut to be arrested with other Zumwalt 12 members

Over the past year or so, I've risked arrest and have been arrested at the last two "christenings" of General Dynamics’ warships. Despite the fact that my fellow demonstrators and I were working to uphold international law, those who stood trial were found guilty of "obstructing the public way" by a jury of our peers in our 3-day "Zumwalt 12" civil resistance trial last February. We had been arrested in Washington Street outside the June 18, 2016 demonstration at the christening of the USS Michael Monsoor, one of three $7 billion Zumwalt first-strike destroyers slated to be made at BIW. (We perpetrators have since contributed over 300 hours of court-mandated community service throughout Maine.)

Aegis 9 outside the Bath Iron Works shipyard of General Dynamics April 1, 2017

Last April Fools Day, nine of us (The "Aegis 9") were arrested in the snow and slush during a nonviolent protest at the christening of the USS Thomas Hudner, an Aegis first-strike destroyer. This year's arrests came 27 years almost to the day after the 1991 Plowshares action. It remains to be seen whether charges will be dropped right before trial this time around. Judge Matthews, Justice Billings, and the prosecution all made it clear that jail is a possibility for some defendants if found guilty by their peers on the jury. This multi-day trial is likely to be in either September or November.

 Will international law hold any sway in the Aegis 9 trial, or will a "Good German"-style status quo win the day? 

Good Germans were those who followed Nazi orders and made possible the bureaucracy and infrastructure of the Holocaust. The Nuremberg Principles were created, in part, to make it clear that individuals are, indeed, responsible for their actions: supposedly, there's no "just following orders" defense. The Nuremberg Principles resulted from the trial of over 1,600 Nazis beginning in 1950. This brief charter of seven principles of international law states, among other things, that the planning and the preparation for wars of aggression are crimes against peace. 

Graphic by 5W Infographics of data from the Pentagon's annual Base Structure Report, 2015

Looking at the proliferation of US war bases around the world - over 800 - and the fact that both the Aegis and the Zumwalt destroyers which dock at some of those bases are first-strike weapons, it's easy to consider continuous US military intervention as war of aggression, easy to consider US foreign policy as criminal. But what about the planning and preparation by General Dynamics for this continuous war of aggression, which is essentially their business model? At what pay scale (if any) could employees of weapons manufacturers be held liable for their livelihood-related crimes against peace?

Jason was arrested April 1 dressed as "Angas" King, Maine's General Dynamics loving senator.

Are either of our multimillionaire US senators - both of whom have accepted tens of thousands of dollars in campaign sponsorship contributions specifically from General Dynamics, not to mention impressive sums from other war profiteer corporations - accomplices in these crimes against peace?

I was arrested April 1 dressed as Senator Susan Collins displaying her corporate sponsorships.

And what about us taxpayers who pay for the warships themselves? Do we, as a whole, know that over half of the discretionary portion of the federal budget pays for war? 

And do we taxpayers also pay the $21.2 million-a-year salary of General Dynamics Corp's CEO, Phebe Novakovic?

(Over $5 million of that compensation package was a bonus!) 

 Once you start looking, it's hard to miss the significant connections between global warfare, our local community and economy, the health of our rivers, cuts in human needs spending, and even just the view from the bridge as you take in the rotating exhibit of warships as you cross.
  

Nuremberg Principle IV states that the fact that a person acts pursuant to order of a government or of a superior does not relieve him from responsibility under international law provided a moral choice was in fact possible to him.

  

 

We have choices as humans, as workers, as taxpayers, as citizens, as Earthlings.

We must recognize this. And act (or not act) accordingly. At least that's what they thought in the direct aftermath of German fascism.
 

Jason Rawn is a member of PeaceWorks. He lives in Bath, Maine.