In August and September I worked on a few projects with Quaker House, a GI counseling center in Fayetteville, NC near Fort Bragg. One project was a Truth in Recruiting comic in which the Enlistment Agreement for the U.S. Armed forces is explained by Sgt. Abe the Honest Recruiter. This resource is freely available online and we distributed thousands from the GI Rights table at September's Peace & Justice Festival in D.C.

I wasn't directly involved in counseling, but I did observe calls and visits with soldiers, all of whom were very rattled by their experience. Although I learned a lot and the work was very meaningful, the most memorable part was sitting in on the counseling of a young soldier stricken with severe Post Traumatic Stress. I also worked on dozens of case studies, and processing their stories was sometimes difficult, and my nightmares continue to be influenced by this work.

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My work here at BEARDEDBABY.NET has been on an extended hyatus for various reasons. The most prominent being that my friend and mentor Tom Fox was among four peace workers taken hostage in Iraq on November 26, 2005, and I have been absorbed in the effort to support their release.

What began as an emergency response has become a daily vigil as we monitor all reports and post prominent related dispatches. Please visit our peace captive action page to find out how you can take action to support freedom for the captives in Iraq.

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THE SILENT PULSE two volume set:

THE LEAGUE IS SCATTERED, and its legacy is known by few. In this haunting visual narrative, their ancient secret is unleashed upon a cluster of friends living in present-day San Francisco. THE SILENT PULSE is a meditative exploration of mythological and religious themes, ruminating on each moment and sequence in a way that underscores Scott McCloud's description of comics as &lquo;the invisible art.&rquo; 2002 IGNATZ AWARD NOMINEE.

BLACK & WHITE + 56 PAGES (TWO GLOSSY VOLUMES) + $5.50 USD

Lovingly printed by Harold Buchholz with sturdy materials to meet the rugged demands of a peacemaker's lifestyle.

This is something I am working on for our peace hostage action page FreeTheCaptivesNow.org as a way of elaborating on Gene Stoltzfus's call for 1000 Peacemaker Prayer Groups. It is far from polished and gathering the materials necessary for a fully-developed resource will take some time. I am posting it here as a draft to invite keener minds than my own into the conversation. [more]