otest against US policies at home and abroad to coincide with Bush's visit. Instead of facing thousands of protesters, Bush has chosen to spend the July 4th holiday speaking to uniformed troops at a US military base.

The coalition of National and Philadelphia-area organizations planning a major protest demonstration on July 4th within a block of the Constitution Center sees the Bush decision as a victory.

"A military base is probably the only place Bush thinks he can go to avoid massive protest. But what he has to know is that veterans and military families are participating in the protests here, joining thousands of others in opposition to his plans for endless war, occupation, and other policies at home and abroad," said Phoebe Jones Schellenberg of the Global Women's Strike, a spokesperson for the protest. "People of color, women and children, and other grassroots people pay the highest price for-and are the first to speak out-against priorities that lavish funding on bombing people in other countries while depriving people in Philadelphia, around the country and around the world not only of civil rights, but of even basic resources to survive, sustain and develop."

The protest-titled Stop US Wars At Home And Abroad-will form at 8:30 a.m. on July 4th in Franklin Square at Seventh and Race Streets for a rally to begin at 9 a.m. At noon, there will be a march passing by a number of important sites in the Independence Park area. There will be a closing event back at Franklin Square starting at 2 p.m. The Constitution Center is located at Sixth and Race Streets.

On February 15th, 10,000 Philadelphians marched against the War on Iraq as part of a worldwide movement of tens of millions of people. That movement is still alive. As the non-existent weapons of mass destruction, the blatant US military occupation regime and the growing quagmire of night street attacks on US troops in Iraq are making evident, the February 15th international movement was correct: the invasion of Iraq was about US strategic military control of the Middle East along with the US addiction to oil. And as is becoming embarrassingly clear, it was a war sold with lies.

The war was supposedly about military "facts on the ground," but when it came to informing the American people about the need for the war, "truth" was irrelevant. The same level of mendacity is evident in the selling of the administration's destructive economic and social agenda. It is a scandal.

The July 4th protest is being held to call attention to all this. It is not a protest against the civil liberties enshrined in the Constitution's Bill Of Rights; on the contrary, it is a protest against turning the document into a Disney-like tourist trap while, under a veil of secrecy, the Bush administration chips away at those liberties and tries to destroy the legacy of the New Deal and the Civil Rights Movement.

"The real dedication to freedom on July 4th lies with those who continue to resist Bush's war policies," said Robert Smith, director of the Brandywine Peace Community. "Enough of cruise missiles at the expense of funding for human needs. Enough of legislation like the USA Patriot Act that put a match to our civil liberties."

The July 4th Mobilization specifically calls for an end to the occupation of Iraq and a return of our troops; an end to preemptive and unilateral military invasions, or economic sanctions like those used to cripple Iraq in the 12 years leading up to the invasion, killing a half million Iraqi children. The protest calls for funding for healthcare, housing, welfare, veterans' benefits, and other social programs at home, environmental protection, independent AIDS research not controlled by the pharmaceutical industry, living wage jobs programs, and a major campaign to improve our education systems so they benefit all who live in the US. Instead of getting sucked into the hoopla of a new Constitution Center, we need to repeal the USA Patriot Act and restore full civil liberties in America for citizens and for immigrants.

In the days before and after July 4th, there will be a number of associated events in and around the Independence Park area. For this information and other details of the July 4th events, go to the July 4th Mobilization website at www.justiceinjuly.org. A complete list of the many diverse national and Philadelphia-area organizations endorsing this protest can be found on the website.

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