In Hot Water

Well, I did my best, but, as my friend Oak would say, "mistakes were made." No sooner did I release that press release than I received objections and corrections. My most egregious mistake was to list Lady Liberty League as a supporter. LLL does not take public stands on political matters, only those that directly concern Pagan legal rights. For that, I apologize to LLL and to Jerrie Hildebrand personally. My mistake was using a former press release that LLL did sign as a template for this one and neglecting to remove their names.

I also apologize to Caroline Kenner, the Chesapeake Pagan Community and the Sacred Space Foundation.

A few folks complained that their names were not included and they would have wanted to sign. I circulated the press release -- so many people seem to confuse 'press release' with 'petition' or 'letter'; it is neither -- with the words "TIME-SENSITIVE" in the subject line and said in the text that we intended to release is around midnight on October 12. Yes, it was rushed.

I had tried to list organizations separately, to strengthen the statement by inferring memberships. In order to accomplish that that, I lifted the names of people who'd signed and listed an organizational affiliation and put them into a list of organizations. This was a mistake. As things turned out, I got some of those folks in trouble with their organizations because they apparently weren't authorized to sign on behalf of the entire groups. To them I also apologize, and will do so to their memberships as a whole if requested.

I also tried to keep it to one page, also not possible. Anyway, after the fallout, here is the corrected press release:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Press Release

PAGANS OPPOSE MILITARY INTERVENTION IN IRAN

October 12, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Ellen Evert Hopman saille333@mindspring.com 413 323 4494 East Coast
M. Macha NightMare herself@machanightmare.com 415 454-4411 West Coast

We are an ad hoc group of Americans who practice diverse Earth-based religions. We affirm the wisdom of peace, tolerance, and justice. These principles are consistent with the values and beliefs of our Pagan religions. We seek to exist in goodwill and fellowship with all peoples, cultures, and nations. In so doing, we express our love for the Earth and acknowledge our interconnectedness with all living things.

In the face of escalating international tensions regarding Iran, we urge the use of diplomatic actions for a peaceful resolution of differences. We reject any rush to military action, since we believe that diplomatic means will lead to a safer, more just, and more constructive solution. Therefore, we call on our political leaders to use diplomacy to create goodwill, peace, and harmony among nations, religions, and peoples.

Respectfully:

Maureen Duffy-Boose, Rainbow Chalice CUUPS, Salt Lake City, UT
Board of Trustees, Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans (CUUPS)
Ellen Evert Hopman, Co-Chief, Order of the WhiteOak, Massachusetts
Nancy Machin, Pagan Educational Network, Indiana
M. Macha NightMare, P&W, San Rafael, CA
Cairril Adaire, Founder, Our Freedom: A Pagan Civil Rights Coalition, Bloomington, IN
Rev. H. Byron Ballard, Coalition of Earth Religions (CERES), Asheville, NC
Jo Carson, Fairfax, CA
Phyllis Curott, New York, NY
Max Dashu, Oakland, CA
Gus diZerega, Ph.D., Sebastopol, CA
Ivo Dominguez, Jr., Elder, Assembly of the Sacred Wheel, Delaware
Holli S. Emore, Columbia, SC
Cerridwen Fallingstar, Forest Knolls, CA
Rev. Sean W. Harbaugh, Sierra Madrone Grove, ADF, California
Caroline Kenner, Board Member, Chesapeake Pagan Community &
Sacred Space Foundation, Washington, DC
Rev. Robert Lee (Skip) Ellison, Archdruid, Ár nDraíocht Féin (ADF), East Syracuse, NY
Sabina Magliocco, Ph.D., Northridge, CA
Rev. Patrick M. McCollum, Director, Our Lady of the Wells Church, Moraga, CA
Michael McDermott, M.D., Black Earth, WI
Katrina Messenger, Founder, Connect DC, Washington, DC
Nava Mizrahhi, Oakland, CA
Ariel Montserrat, Editor, Green Egg Zine, Tennessee
Anne Newkirk Niven, Editor in Chief, PanGaia Magazine, California
Penny J. Novack, Elder, Step by Step Tradition, Buckland, MA
Rev. Rayna Ardren Owens, PhD., Miami, FL
Beth Owl’s Daughter, The Dragon’s Cauldron, Reclaiming, Durham, NC
Lynn Pacifico, New York, NY
Lauren Raine, Tucson, AZ
Angela Roberts Reeder, Baltimore, MD
Vibra Willow, P&W, Reclaiming, California
Rose Wise, Administrator/High Priestess, Ozark Avalon, Boonville, MO
Michael York, Ph.D., San Francisco, CA
Oberon Zell-Ravenheart, Church of All Worlds, Cotati, CA

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So here I am publicly going on record that I'm sorry for those misunderstandings and my big mistake with LLL.

I'm embarrassed about those mistakes, but not sorry that we made the effort. It's high time for us to engage with the world. Make of this what you will, but I am pleased to get this response from Beth Owl's Daughter:

Thank you, Macha, for the powerful and focused intention behind this. Your timing turned out to be impeccable, paralleling Gen. Sanchez's bitter testimony yesterday about our "failure" in Iraq.

Through our actions and our magic, may peace and wisdom prevail.

The water's cooling off, so jump in and join me. Let's keep a-brewin' that magic.