A Message About Muscle
The courtyard of the Venice United Methodist Church, near the intersection of Lincoln and Venice boulevards, was roomy enough to accommodate two dozen MoveOn activists, plus journalists and Ms. Berliants provocative, muscular message:
The interminable Iraq War is and always has been too expensive for sensible Americans to swallow. The record expenditures are robbing Westsiders of precious services.
We are here today to release a brand new report (available at moveon.org) on the true cost of the Iraq War, the notably upbeat Ms. Berliant said. We want to show how this unwinnable civil war is robbing our community of much-needed resources.
Persuading Voters in Congress
We also are calling on all Members of Congress and all of Californias elected officials to vote in September to end the war. The new report talks about the direct financial impact on taxpayers in various congressional districts around the country.
Our country is spending over $270 million every day on the Iraq War, said Ms. Berliant. That is an average of $4100 for every American household.
A marketing expert, she seemed to be effective, not because all who surrounded her agreed so much as because she was speaking in restrained and measured but forceful tones.
Moving on to Billions
Ms. Berliant went on to say that in the 36th District, site of the press conference, taxpayers are putting in $1.16 billion to continue the war.
In the 30th congressional district (Culver City, Santa Monica, Malibu), it is even more, $1.37 billion. In L.A. County, our tab has come to $14.4 billion.
Statewide, California has put in a staggering $57.7 billion, which is more than 10 percent of the cost of the entire war.
For generalist record-keepers, MoveOn pegs the monthly cost of the war at $10 billion. For math majors, that calculates to $3850 per second.
Turning for Home
Without pausing, Ms. Berliant made a U-turn and headed for home. That money could have been used for real needs in our community, she said.
With the money that California alone pout in, we could have covered 23 million Americans without healthcare. We could have provided every home in California with renewable energy with money to spare.
With the money from the 30th District alone, we could have provided funding for 20,000 new elementary school teachers.
Tone of the Forum
It was suggested that if Ms. Berliants strikingly modulated presentation had been staged in a more visible forum, its effect on Southern California might have been exponentially greater.
