Massachusetts Campaign for a
U.S. Department of Peace and Nonviolence

Designing a National Peace Academy

The legislation to establish a U.S. Department of Peace was reintroduced into the U.S. House of Representatives Feb. 3 by Congressman Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, and 62 congressional co-sponsors. Two additional co-sponsors signed on after introduction, bringing the total number of supporters to 65. It was assigned the same bill number as in the previous Congress: HR 808.

This bill has some small-but-exciting changes. For example, it calls for $10 billion to fund the department, with 85 percent of funds designated to reduce and prevent violence here in the United States.   See [ entire article ]

Thanks for publishing this article! The very first bill to create a Department of Peace was introduced in 1935 by Senator Neely of Virgina and has been introduced in both the Senate and the House multiple times over the past 80 years. Support for it has been increasing ever since. It was then introduced again in 2001 by Congressman Kucinich just one month before 9-11. There is a rather large and expanding movement supporting it's passage. The difference between 1935 and now, is the instant availabilty to take action online and in person. Support for Senator Neely's original bill is now benefiting from text messaging, e-faxing letter to Congress, national actions and volunteers en masse signing petitions, writing letter and blogs! I bet he would be amazed! The Peace Alliance is a nonpartisan, nonprofit supporting the establishment of a U.S. Department of Peace and Nonviolence with the passage of a federal bill currently in Congress (HR-808). In my opinion, they have been instrumental in raising public and politician awareness of not only the federal bill in Congress but the need to treat preventing violence at it's root causes. Bandaids come off and it seems to me that's all we use to treat the rampant epidemic of violence in the world and our communities.

As you kindly mentioned, the website www.Change.org is holding an online event through Jan 15th calling for the "Ideas For Change in America." [ Please add your vote via the link in Actions above - ed.]

The idea to "Appoint Secretary of Peace in Department of Peace and Nonviolence" is in the category of other and currently in 1st place.

The idea is in second place out of 4,500 ideas.

The support and the hunger for true change is here.

I really appreciate your attention to the need for violence prevention

With Appreciation,
Ana Campos
South Florida State Organizer
US Department of Peace and Nonviolence Campaign
[ See  Ana  Spector's  entire article ]

The Peace Alliance Educational Institute to Focus on Violence Prevention Education :

WASHINGTON - December 16 - The Peace Alliance, the nonprofit, nonpartisan organization leading the growing grassroots movement active in all 50 states for creation of a U.S. Department of Peace, announced last week it is in the process of creating The Peace Alliance Educational Institute, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization focusing on violence prevention education and research.

We chose the name 'The Peace Alliance Educational Institute' because we feel it most accurately describes both the tone and nature of the work we intend to do through the new organization, said Peace Alliance Executive Director Lynn McMullen. 'Institute' demonstrates the serious, practical, pragmatic and scientifically-based nature of effective peacebuilding   See [ entire article ]

....Obama’s popularity in my kitchen slipped recently when he started picking the Clinton gang and other conventional suits to work for him. It seems a counterintuitive way to achieve change. Those polled are hopeful that he’ll find somebody who actually thinks differently soon and have adopted a wait-and-see posture.....

I don’t expect Barack Obama to kill the Federal Reserve system or the CIA or to slash military spending or even revoke any corporate charters, but I think we’ve got a shot at universal health care, and maybe sooner or later a Department of Peace, or at least an innovative appointment or two. A constitutional convention would clear up a lot of things, but the thought of rethinking everything from the ground up scares some people, and my guess is that’s the last thing Obama wants to do. That’s my blah-blah  See [ entire article ]

We like to think we humans are members of a pretty sophisticated tribe. We really aren't. There are people out there, loose in the world, who think murder is an acceptable form of political persuasion. Sometimes, that means we have to send young men and women into battle.

But we also need Peter Duisberg and the men and women who, like him, are dedicated to the idea that we can, as humans, be better than our club-wielding ancestors. They believe that there are better ways to end disputes than by sending suicide bombers into malls and battle fleets to sea.

Warrior and war protester alike, they each have the courage it takes to stand up and do the right thing, even if they don't always agree what that right thing is.   See [ entire article ]

There is a movement in the United States to establish a Department of Peace. This is not a new concept. Throughout the history of this country, there have been attempts to create a Department of Peace. Many people believe this is an attainable goal.

We can define peace as being a measure of the ability to address conflict before it escalates into violence. As a nation we are unskilled in this area. The answer is to educate and provide tools to address the conflict at its root causes. This can be accomplished by educating Americans on the prevalence of violence and showing that we can impact and change it.   See [ entire article ]

Brandeis Student Peace Alliance:

SPA wants the new administration to establish a cabinet-level U.S. Department of Peace, make the prevention and reduction of youth violence a priority in the federal budget and ensure nonviolent and conflict resolution to the U.S. military and representatives abroad.   See [ entire article ]

As a Congresswoman, she’s introduced bills to help people with HIV and AIDS, and she’s championed the rights of women and children. And in the halls of Congress, Lee is known for standing strong in her beliefs, including one that says we need a Department of Peace in Washington.   See [ entire article ]

The United States Department of Peace (or DoP) is a proposed cabinet-level department of the executive branch of the U.S. government. The original idea of a Peace Department in the United States dates back to the administration of George Washington, but has been most recently reinitiated by Rep. Dennis Kucinich beginning in 2001 and formed a part of Kucinich's presidential campaign platform in 2004. A bill for this purpose, HR 3760, was previously introduced in the House of Representatives on September 14, 2005. It has most recently been re-introduced via HR 808 on February 5, 2007.

The movement in support of a U.S. Department of Peace is also an independent grassroots political movement that operates autonomously and that has continued to gain momentum after Kucinich's bid in the 2004 presidential election. The ongoing movement is co-led by Kucinich and the author and popular motivational speaker Marianne Williamson. This movement actively lobbies for the endorsements of congressional leaders. It has local grassroot chapters in over 200 congressional districts.nbsp; [ read more]