good morning, supervisors. my name is will scott. i live in normal heights. they communities in this city of san francisco share of the challenge of caring for what jesus called the least of these. i want to give you a few examples of what is happening in our community. congregation members are struggling to keep their homes. young families are leaving because they cannot afford to stay, and our neighborhood, the lines at food pantries are getting longer and longer. already lean budget of non- profit serving the vulnerable and working poor, those who are homeless and mentally ill interdicted are being cut at a time when people need these services more and more. many people with valuable skills are unemployed and underemployed in have been for many years.

hopelessness has become a daily struggle. sometimes our churches able to provide alleviation to those that are feeling the deep pain of the economic crisis. we aspire to do more, but the reality is that these struggles that so many are facing the man much more than charity or inattentive pastoral care. communities of all shapes and sizes are crying out for justice. the prophet isaiah has this incredible passage in which he talks about swords and spears into pruning hooks, a time when nation will not lift up sword against nation. the resolution before you, i think, is in that spirit and vision. on sunday mornings old-timers in new people are speaking up about the need about the report or decision of our priorities. -- we prioritization of our values. my maternal grandfather spent an

entire career at the pentagon. he suffered a nervous breakdown in the vietnam war. during his long retirement his children and grandchildren did not see it defeated veteran, they saw someone passionate about the arts and education and passionate about caring for the vulnerable. thank you. >> thank you very much. >> good morning. my name is molly tobias, and i am a program director, one of stepping stones for adult day care centers in san francisco. we endorse the resolution bring the dollars home. in discussion of the national level on how to reduce the federal deficit, there are proposals to cut essential safety net programs for the elderly and not just medicaid but social security in medicare peer did you just witnessed a california legislator and the governor this year eliminate 88

seats as an option medicare benefits and the impact locally. increasingly we will see it costs passed on to our cities. we believe better prioritization of cuts along in reducing the fat from military expenditures toward funding domestic needs. so we can get back to a central programs for the elderly and disabled. it is time for city leaders to speak out com. thank you. the dom>> hello. and i really want to thank you for this wonderful resolution, and i hope it goes forward with the whole board.

it is estimated the city will save $1.3 billion over 10-year time. this pension reform passed now. that amount pales in comparison. when the united states is spending $9 billion per month on the war in iraq alone. what do we get for that money? what we got is equal amounts of displaced iraqis. thousands of dead u.s. troops. we should not just cut the military budget, but eliminate it. all except for police action. that means we do not kill and

destroy the host country just to root out one or two supposedly bad people. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> good morning, supervisors. occupy wall street movement is an example of how local protests can have a national voice. and that is what this resolution is about. this is now being considered by city councils around the country. occupy wall street movement brought to the national attention and shifted the political debate from the deficit to unemployment incoming quality -- inequality and wealthy corporations are not paying their fair share of taxes. part of creating a healthy

economy is also in shifting the spending from the military budget to living wage and jobs, universal health care, affordable housing, and quality public education. . former congressional representative called military spending throwing money down a rathole. economists talk about the quantify the effect of money that is spent. $1 spent in health care creates $4-$5 about you in the economy. $1 spent on military spending is like burning that money. the only way we are going to create a healthier economy is by shifting money spent on military

into the type of services that benefit the people. when we create a militarized economy, we transfer the wealth from the people to the small percentage that creates the income disparity that we see. that 1% that is now the focus of the occupy wall street movement includes many of the military contractors and munitions companies that have distorted our economy and have bought the elections, bribed politicians and are anti-democratic force in this country. what you do in passing this resolution is by changing the

economy and also defending democracy. thank you. >> rev. linda hope. i am a presbyterian minister. and anyone who thinks this is not a local issue, i invite them to come and walk the streets with me and see the effects of the cutback in services for the most honorable among of -- among us have had and the increased number of people on the street. i also invite anyone who thinks this is not a local issue to come on december 21 at 5:30 in front of the big tree across the way where we will hold the 23rd interface memorial service for all of our home was dead. as a part of our ministry, we operate as a house for women. it is a place for severely- traumatized komen -- homeless women to come for a year and a

half with an opportunity to good education, health care, dental care, computer skills, psychotherapy and of the things they need to transform their lives. i am sorry to tell you we already have women veterans from afghanistan coming address the house. military veterans who are severely traumatized, drug addicted, prosecuted -- prostituted, and homeless. besides what they have experienced in the war, they have all suffered sexual assaults by other troops, or usually by their superior officers. some of our women who have done well and graduating cannot find housing. we now have one of our veterans looking as far away as vallejo. this mean she has to leave her support community.

last week eyes of which are performed eight memorial services. please pass this resolution, we need to take the stand. thank you very much. >> hon. supervisors, my name is jeff johnson from the new priorities campaign. i own a small business in san francisco, and i am empowered by the church council to speak on their behalf. and our nation, our state, and city are in an economic crisis. our public services education, health care, housing and infrastructure are suffering, and with them, the well for -- welfare of our people. as a partial remedy the u.s. government needs to and the wars and bring the troops and war expenditures home.

the cost of the wars is mind boggling. president barack obama refer to a one trillion dollar pricetag for america's wars that grossly underestimates the total cost of the wars in afghanistan and pakistan. the final bill will run 3.7 trillion and could reach 4.4 trillion, according to brown university. cost of wars estimate of the total cost to the nation so far, nearly 1.3 trillion. cost of californians 139 billion. the cost to san francisco, 3.8 billion. the bottom line is that san francisco is suffering because of a huge misdirection of taxpayer funds tote -- towards war in militarize form policy. the board of supervisors has a responsibility to speak out and

lobby congress on this issue. we cannot remain silent when the war for our residents is at stake. no the u.s. council of mayor's pass a resolution on june 22 calling on congress to read direct military spending, supported by san francisco mayor ed lee. los angeles also passed a similar resolution on april 15. the mayors and lost angeles are on record as asking the u.s. congress to bring the war dollars, and san francisco is not. please fix that. please pass the resolution. thank you very much. >> good morning. my name is paul lowe rodriguez. -- pablo rodriguez.

and we are one of the largest institutions, not only in the state of california but in the whole country. madam we have 110,000 engines and over 2000 members. -- we have a 110,000 students and over 2000 members. that is the voice of concern. and it is very alarming that due to the cuts and the priorities, we're losing hundreds of thousands of students. supervisor avalos, i am very proud of you for bringing this resolution. i am also proud of being in your district. you are my supervisor, and i am very happy you are here. just a few days ago we have this little meeting with some of the veterans, and one of them came

and talked to us and said do not talk to me because i am all war veteran. i feel that what we did was just destruction. we destroyed the lives of thousands of people. now i am here, and i am going to work against the war machine. ithis is costing all of us $1 million to keep one soldier in afghanistan. do you know what we can do with that money in our own city? we have a budget the opposite for $14 million. we're going to lose hundreds of thousands of students and classis. and that is why when we met with our union leaders and students, that is the word we are bringing here. let's help our own people in the

united states of america. let's bring the money home and at sto stop. we are the richest nation in the whole planet. instead of building bombs -- >> next speaker, please. >> my name is amber rose. i am a veteran. i served in army for 6.5 years in active duty. thank you, supervisors, for introducing this resolution. i support this resolution, and here are a couple of reasons why. 6323 service members have been killed. 20%-50% of service members suffer from post traumatic

stress disorder. that equals 2 350,000 to 900,000 service members suffering from a debilitating disorder. every day 32 veterans attempt suicide, and it -- and 18 succeed. the estimated cost of care is approximately $600 billion. i implore everyone you can hear my voice to do everything they can to bring the troops home and redistribute the money. passing this resolution is a step in the right direction. i really appreciate it. >> good morning. i am a member of the san

francisco veterans affairs commission. i am a veteran. i support the resolution because veterans care is severely lacking. and while we're spending millions of dollars in iraq, we have people up to wait for mental health care. that is unacceptable. we have people waiting months for doctors' appointments for simple injuries. the funds can be used to create jobs, because as of right now the veterans and a plenary is hovering around 18%. we always get parade for veterans day, but it is just what service. if people want to support us, you will pass the resolution. you will support the people that went to war. thank you. inpu>> good morning. i[inaudible]

i have not seen the kind of despair and hopelessness in my nearly 40 years of teaching. obviously i would like to say a few things that in my view can change things around. the specter of homelessness, rising unemployment, costing educational programs, disappearance of financial aid, and the hearts are filled with despair and hopelessness. all of the country's of the world, they are trying to strengthen their a educational programs.

and and the basic amenities they feel their citizens deserve. we in this country are busy dismantling what ever we had. i always thought the purpose of military was the defense of our country. if that is so, what are we doing with troops and more than 140 countries? we're in 63 countries. that is the abuse of our young men and women in uniform. it is being done at a cost of our needs and thus country. and i would just like to share with you a quotation from the famous irish playwright. i want to share this with you

for a reason. he said america is the only country in the world that has gone directly from barberry is some to decadence without once stopping in civilization. let's prove him wrong. >> good morning. i am one of the code-founders of progressive democrats here in san francisco. one of our our reach activities. one of our desires is to reach

out to people who do not know we're here today. we gather signatures for various citizens for -- from the homeless all the way up [inaudible] to really express their desire to follow this campaign. campaign has not been going on long, but it is a combination of many groups working together to know we have a chance to turn this around. for many years people have written letters, faxes, emails to their congress people and to no avail. we're now realizing that this step will make a difference in moving this wonderful campaign for work. thank you very much. >> my name is joan the eisie ei. we have endorsed this resolution.

the club members strongly support the principles of the new priorities campaign. the several budget priorities are definitely the business of the boards of supervisors. the cities and states are starving. the trickle-down theory has been proven not to work. instead of benefits trickling down, they are not there at all. in there have been programs cut -- there have been programs cut at the rec center where i used to take my dog. there was a wonderful challenge there. the coach the kids and provided help with after-school programs. the people there were inspired to organize a holiday gift program for the younger kids. that is all now gone.

it is important to spread this movement from the ground up all across the country. get the people in congress to listen to us instead of the big money donors. -- big money investors. these are actually the war profiteers and polluters. budget priorities say a lot about values and where this country is right now, the values are shameful. >> thank you very much. nick speaker. >> good morning. i am vera hale. you know me because i am with tears speaking about improving services for the disabled. today i would like to mention war does not work. we've seen this in the past 10

years more than any other time. we have seen terrorism still grows, in spite of what we do. we have advanced to the point where it is like joe mccarthy's 1950's when people were being -- were afraid of being called a communist. now people are afraid of being called a terrorist. nelson mandela was called a terrorist, too. homeland security will still be there, and they are the ones that have made life more difficult for anyone from the middle east who lives in the united states, and other people, too, because they think they are puritae. i think we need to look at how to bring about peace. even nixon knew you did not send the general to end the war in vietnam, especially when you're not winning. you send a diplomat with great skills, and i think we need to

do that. i think we need to make sure your resolution gets looked up by congress woman barbirolli who is the only one in congress that has consistently voted to end the war and send no more troops and no more appropriations. i support your resolution, and hope you will spread it widely. >> thank you. next speaker, please. >> good morning, supervisors. my name is roger scott appeared i. i am also an army veteran. many people join me in tandem -- commending you for bringing this resolution forward, and certainly we hope the majority of the board of supervisors will have your perspective on this issue. small-minded people, including local journalists to mistake

cynicism for revolution. my question to those people is, what is more democratic, patriotic and rational than the demand by the people of san francisco and their elected representatives of the u.s. government and the disastrous undeclared wars and the bloody chaos of the occupation and then redirect billions of dollars in savings to fund education, health care, and other human services? the deficit and helped -- california is comparable to the amount california residents pay in income taxes. and a high percentage of the people of this country and rock the world oppose the wars and occupation. and i feel sadness and outrage when i see people in listing an

armed forces because they cannot afford to go to college. when men and women joined reserve units to have a higher standard of living and then are sent to kill or be killed in distant countries, stop the wars and occupation. bring the money home. >> think you. -- thank you. >> good morning, supervisors. thank you for this resolution. in i am a veteran of the vietnam war, the early part i was in the navy. i am a member of veterans for peace, although i am speaking for myself. we all know the " from eisenhower that the military industrial complex represents those that are hungry and it cetera.

as i get older i see this more and more. we have 1000 bases around the planet, and it is time to be engaged to empire-building. it is going in the exact opposite direction of what humans need. the kind of corruption we of seen come out of halliburton is outstanding. when i was in the navy i washed my own clothes. 60 minutes reported that we taxpayers are paying $100 every time a load of clothes is washed in the middle east. this is insanity. this is the kind of waste that cut of the various description of where the services are being cut that you've been hearing this morning. i ride the buses and see the homeless, but i do not see the homeless anymore, i see the number one third.

the suicide rate has been pointed out as increasing. i have been spending more and more time working on the front lines, seeing how the veterans have long waiting times. not enough services. as a senior myself i realize seniors are treated very poorly by comparison to the way they are in europe. and i think we can get there. occupy people are taking care of the hungry. why is that? there is not enough money in the public sector. we need to bring the war dollars home, and i hope to see a commitment from the public sector to see the commitment with occupy people are. >> thank you. the speaker, please. -- next speaker, please. >> my name is tony bellway. i re