Some countries have habeas corpus--and some countries get a war and occupation in Iraq.

"We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. When the loyal opposition dies, I think the soul of America dies with it."--Edward R. Murrow

See: Habeas Corpus, R.I.P. (1215 - 2006), Molly Ivins, Truthdig.com
See: A Government of Laws, Nat Hentoff, Washington Times, 09.25.06
See: Indefinite Detention and Torture: a Political and Moral Mistake, Patrick McElwee, ZNet
Image: Web capture

Some countries provide effective alternatives to road rage, traffic delays, car payments, and dependence on foreign oil--and some countries get a war and occupation in Iraq.

"War means blind obedience, unthinking stupidity, brutish callousness, wanton destruction, and irresponsible murder."--Alexander Berkman

See: Amtrak || Live Car-Free || Bike Commuting
See: National Association of Railroad Passengers
See: Surface Transportation Policy Project
See: League of American Bicyclists
Image: Ian Britton, FreeFoto.com

Some countries provide a home for everyone--and some countries get a war and occupation in Iraq.

"A state of war only serves as an excuse for domestic tyranny."--Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Image: Paul Dorn

Some countries promptly clean up or prevent toxic waste spills--and some countries get a war and occupation in Iraq.

"No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare."--James Madison

See: Scorecard Superfund Site Locator
See: Clean Water Action
Image: Web capture

Some countries aggressively pursue sustainable energy--and some countries get a war and occupation in Iraq.

"The release of atomic energy has not created a new problem. It has merely made more urgent the necessity of solving an existing one."--Albert Einstein

Image: Web capture

Some countries provide substance abuse treatment for everyone--and some countries get a war and occupation in Iraq.

"For me war has become a flat, black depression without highlights, a revulsion of the mind and an exhaustion of the spirit."--Ernie Pyle

See: Reclaiming Futures
Image: Beavis, by Tom Stone/tomstonegallery.com and Flickr.com

Some countries protect wildlife habitat--and some countries get a war and occupation in Iraq.

"He that is the author of a war lets loose the whole contagion of hell and opens a vein that bleeds a nation to death."--Thomas Paine

See: Defenders of Wildlife
See: Great Bear Foundation
See: Sierra Club: Endangered Species Act campaign
See: World Wildlife Fund
Image: Web capture

Some countries build flood control, protect wetlands, heed warnings, and have competent emergency systems--and some countries get a war and occupation in Iraq.

"The chain reaction of evil--wars producing more wars--must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation."--Martin Luther King, Jr.

See: Bush Takes “Full Responsibility” For Katrina Response , Democracy NOW!
See: "Hurricane Expert Threatened for Pre-Katrina Warnings", Greg Palast
See: Common Ground Collective
Image: Web capture

Some countries build schools, train teachers, reduce class sizes, and value children--and some countries get a war and occupation in Iraq.

"The tragedy of modern war is that the young men die fighting each other--instead of their real enemies back home in the capitals."--Edward Abbey

See: The Opportunity Cost of War, Anita Dancs, TomPaine.com
See: How many schools left behind?, Socialist Worker
Image: Wisconsin Education Association Council

Some countries take global warming seriously and work to reduce the threat--and some countries get a war and occupation in Iraq.

"War...is as much a punishment to the punisher as to the sufferer."--Thomas Jefferson

See: The inconvenient truth about Al Gore, Socialist Worker
See: White House v. Climate Change, TomPaine.com
Image: Ian Britton, FreeFoto.com

Some countries provide college scholarships, job training and career opportunities for young people--and some countries get a war and occupation in Iraq.

"The pioneers of a warless world are the youth that refuse military service."--Albert Einstein

See: Myths of Military Opportunity
See: Veterans Return From Iraq Disabled and Homeless, DemocracyNOW!, 12.13.04
See: Study Details Mental Health of War Veterans
Image: Web capture

Some countries have universal healthcare, and some countries get a war and occupation in Iraq.

"I hate war...for the dictatorships it puts in the place of democracies, and for the starvation that stalks after it."--Harry Emerson Fosdick

See: Health Care for All
See: Universal Health Care Action Network
See: Ranks of uninsured Americans grow, USA Today, 08.29.06
Image: Paul Dorn, image of David Dorn (1932-2006) at Maine Medical Center, Portland, ME.

Some countries have healthy, well-inspected, and well-regulated food, and some countries get a war and occupation in Iraq.

"I believe in compulsory cannibalism. If people were forced to eat what they killed there would be no more war."--Abbie Hoffman

See: Tainted Spinach Brings Demands for New Rules, New York Times, 09.27.06
See: Leafy Green Sewage, New York Times, 09.22.06
See: Today's Lunch Special: E. Coli , Huffington Post, 09.17.06
Image: Paul Dorn

Some countries provide a home for everyone, and some countries get a war and occupation in Iraq.

"Every war when it comes, or before it comes, is represented not as a war but as an act of self-defense against a homicidal maniac."--George Orwell

Image: Paul Dorn

Some countries provide support for artists and cultural enhancement, and some countries get a war and occupation in Iraq.

"The Department of Defense is the behemoth...With an annual budget larger than the gross domestic product of Russia, it is an empire."--The 9/11 Commission Report

See: "Lower Haight artwork has become a target for vandals", San Francisco Bay Guardian, 09.20.06
See: Artists.Against.War.
Image: Paul Dorn

Some countries provide affordable, effective alternatives to expensive and stressful driving, and some countries get a war and occupation in Iraq.

"Even if we are spared destruction by war, our lives will have to change if we want to save life from self-destruction."--Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

See: City CarShare || Flexcar || Zipcar || Live Car-Free || Bike Commuting
Image: Paul Dorn

Some countries provide some minimal economic security for all residents, and some countries get a war and occupation in Iraq.

"The winds that blow our billions away return burdened with themes of scorn and dispraise."--Garet Garrett

See: "Forbes 400 richest Americans are all billionaires this year," USA Today, 9/22/06
Image: Paul Dorn

Some countries get pleasant, shaded streets, and some countries get a war and occupation in Iraq.

"The great error of nearly all studies of war...has been to consider war as an episode in foreign policies, when it is an act of interior politics."--Simone Weil
Plant Trees, Not Bombs:
Trees, Not Cars
Friends of the Urban Forest
Image: Paul Dorn

Some countries get well-maintained streets, and some countries get a war and occupation in Iraq.

"Nothing will end war unless the people themselves refuse to go to war."—Albert Einstein
Image: Paul Dorn

Some countries get high-speed passenger rail, and some countries get a war and occupation in Iraq.

"The guns and the bombs, the rockets and the warships, are all symbols of human failure."—Lyndon B. Johnson

See: The Times: "Train that changed a nation celebrates its 25th anniversary"
Image: Morandi Patrick

Some countries get clean public toilets, and some countries get a war and occupation in Iraq.

"We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security."—Dwight D. Eisenhower
Image: Paul Dorn