but you have to remember the repubs and unfortunately some dems would have us believe that the "just" and "righteous" wars of "liberation" and in "national defence" that we are dragged kicking and screaming into are totally necessary and are part of defending and insuring the future safety of the american ideal. In these rather warped terms a departmant of peace is like garlic to a vampire to the warmongers.

Longtime Dem from Hawaii purposed this years ago when he was in the house. He got some stuff started at that time. look it up!

alohapolitics.com

Dear Mr. Blunt,

We already have a department dedicated to peace.  It's called the State Department.  They employ people called "diplomats" who travel to far off countries and engage in something called "diplomacy" to ensure, among other things, that unnecessary wars do not occur.  A long time ago, before the Bush administration, it was effecting in convincing other countries that the government of United States of America was not bat shit crazy, but unfortunately after a concerted effort to piss off everyone except the United Kingdom that is no longer possible.
I, like many other Democrats, would like to see this mission restored to its' proper level of importance within the administration see as how our lives depend on it.

Sincerely,
Bryce in Seattle

For 150 years it was the War Department, then changed to the Defense Department.

Not long ago the Official Seal of the United States was changed so that the eagle faces the sign of peace, not the sign of war.

Kucinich was my guy. He was way way way ahead of everybody else in the last presidential contest.

He was right.

Why the hell do we NOT have a Department of Peace?

Why the hell do you call that idea "stupid"??? Wtf???

Yep, almost as stupid as calling it the Central Intelligence Agency.

Fear will keep the local systems in line. -Grand Moff Tarkin Survivor Left Blogistan

You can see the Republicans are running scared and are literally reaching the "bottom of the barrel." The just plain scary...Democrats is a code word that the Party of:("stay the course Iraq"; protect Rep. Foley sexual predators,tax-cuts for the rich, mock their Christian Supporters..ha ha.) are still not as bad as "those" democrats.

And Rep. Blunt wasn't he caught with his hand in Abramoff  pockets.  Rep. Blunt why haven't the Republican controlled gov't caught Osama Bin Laden..the person responsible for 9/11?

Peace? DEAR GOD NO, NOT PEACE!!!!

aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

<runs screaming around the apartment in terror, eventually knocking myself out>

Please, not peace.

I think that just might kill us.

"Whenever a Voice of Moderation addresses liberals, its sole purpose is to stomp out any real sign of life." - James Wolcott

These are the moments when I really do believe that our country is doomed. That definition of insanity that says its all about doing something over and over again and expecting a different result comes to mind.

We've completely bought into the idea that subjugating people with our military power brings some kind of positive end - and in our current world, it doesn't work - unless of course we're willing to doom the whole planet with our nukes. (I actually saw a crazy b*&^h last night on Hardball say that we're having problems in Iraq because we didn't go in there with enough force because we were worried about "collateral damage.")

Until we have the courage to challenge this worldwide bullying tactic, we continue to sink down the rabbit hole. I, for one, will take my stand with Gandhi and John Lennon. Lets "give peace a chance."

Of course anyone who proposes this kind of approach will be called a "girly man." So, what does this tell you? We've so bought into the phallic focused war machine that any dissent is derided with the most demeaning language possible - your "manhood" is questioned. I say its about time!!!

Doesn't information itself have a liberal bias? Steven Colbert

Notice that when we actually needed to defend ourselves we had to start a new department - Homeland Security.

The "defense" department has been the offense department for 70 years. Let's be honest and put it back to the War Department.

There are ways for us to transform the military-industrial complex. What it takes is setting new national goals that require high tech solutions and then encouraging the big military contractors to bid on them. Lockheed made urban buses and aluminum canoes at one point.

The same expertise that goes into developing composites for use in fighter planes could be adapted to lighter, stronger civilian transport, for example. All it takes is some leadership and the ability to rethink our priorities.


Policies not Politics
--- Daily Landscape

Why if we followed that logic and created a Dept of Peace, or re-created the Department of State, why..why then what would all our arms companies like Lockheed, Martin-Marietta and the others do? I mean we just can't stop making weapons now can we. Don't these loony lefties know war is peace? (snark)

It is time for Democrats to remember who got us in this mess, oppose them and not each other.