In This Time of Gratitude, How to Un-Thank George W. Bush

Usually understood as a time to express gratitude for the people and things we sometimes take for granted, Thanksgiving and this year's holiday season can also have a different meaning.

George W. Bush, the now former president we still and should love to berate, is on tour to promote his new book, and one peace activist organization is making a point of un-thanking him for it wherever he goes.

CODEPINK: Women for Peace (men welcome, too) and their supporters are mobilizing around the country to protest against Bush's self-glorifications of torture and warmongering in his memoir Decision Points.

It's a must-read if you want to know how to get away with and justify horrifications such as waterboarding and starting the two longest wars in US history.

"With his book, media appearances and the opening of his library in Dallas, George Bush is being treated as a respected statesman instead of what he really is: a war criminal," said CODEPINK cofounder Medea Benjamin. "That's why we, the people, have to set the record straight."

CODEPINK's nonviolent actions have included the usual in-person protests, 'setting the record straight' in Milwaukee, Miami and elsewhere. Why not your hometown, too?

But CODEPINK has creatively gone well beyond protests, with a number of inventive and easy ways to un-thank Bush at a bookstores near you, such as printing out special bookmarks that read "Warning: This Book's Author is a War Criminal" and placing them in each copy of Decision Points, or gathering copies of the Bush memoir and moving them to the crime section of the bookstore. Check some visual examples here, and if you go ahead with some book-moving in your local bookstore, consider emailing a photo of your 'work' to the CODEPINK's "Where's W's Book Belong?" contest.

"High officials must be held accountable for criminal acts," says CODEPINK cofounder Jodie Evans. "Otherwise, it sends a clear message to future administrations - including the current one - that they are not required to uphold the basic tenets of human rights and international law."

CODEPINK is a women-initiated grassroots peace and social justice movement working to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, stop new wars and redirect US resources into healthcare, education, green jobs and other life-affirming activities. CODEPINK rejects foreign policies based on domination and aggression, calling instead for policies based on diplomacy, compassion and a commitment to international law.

With an emphasis on joy and humor, CODEPINK women and men seek to activate, amplify and inspire a community of peacemakers through creative campaigns and a commitment to non-violence.

So go switch those books, and let us know how it went in the comments below.

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