Kate Cowley's blog

We started off Day 10 of the fast with a procession to the White House for a press conference with CodePINK. Next, we made our way to the Senate Hart building, where, after lots of meetings and planning, we had the opportunity to put our ideas into action. All of those meetings paid off - the action came together beautifully! more...

This morning, on Day Eight of our fast, we gathered together for a conference call with the Afghan Youth Peace Volunteers, a group of young people working for peace and justice in Afghanistan (http://ourjourneytosmile.com/blog/). They have been fasting for two days in solidarity with all of us. It is difficult to try to encapsulate the richness of the dialogue we exchanged with this group of young people so dedicated to the struggle for peace and justice, and so entrenched in the sorrow and pain of war. more...

We have been talking a lot this past week about how a good deal of our work seems to be about understanding the "other," and how it is especially difficult to understand the one inflicting the torture: the one in a position of power. In our reflection this morning, Jack contributed to this discussion and aided in our understanding by sharing with us his own story, which he described as "coming to this world from another world." Later we headed to the CIA headquarters to be a presence at the "Peace of the Action" rally focused on the CIA's use of drones. Two fasters, Kathy Kelly & Jack Ryan, spoke at the rally. more...

On the fifth day of the fast, in honor of the birthday Martin Luther King Jr., Ted led us in a reflection on some of King's writings, asking us to think about a phrase from his Strength to Love about having a "tough mind and a tender heart." Later we went to the luncheon for John Yoo. Bob, Matt and Lindsay were on the inside as the rest vigiled outside. more...

On the fourth day of the fast, a more relaxed schedule allowed us the opportunity to catch our breath, much needed after these last three eventful days. We gathered for our morning reflection, which began with a moment of silence for the people of Haiti, who remain, with their friends and family all over the world, in our thoughts and prayers. more...

Day Three of the fast began with a morning reflection and discussion led by John and Jericha from Chicago. Later some of us took off for the Supreme Court, where we began a long procession around Capitol Hill, which included a walk up the steps leading to the Capitol. The procession concluded at the Senate Hart building, where the other half of our group was inside lobbying. In the evening we heard poetry and music from David Rovics, followed by a talk from Cindy Sheehan and Ray McGovern about drones and the CIA, more...