Joe Lindstrom is one of 120,000 Americans serving in Iraq. Lindstrom was also a UW-Madison student until he was called to active duty.
A website, www.BringJoeHome.us, has been started to bring back Lindstrom. The Bring Joe Home website is Ald. Austin King's, District 8, and Green Party activist Ben Manski's shot at bringing their friend back and making a stand for domestic issues they feel underlie the war in Iraq.
\He's my best friend,"" said King. ""Joe Lindstrom is a phenomenal guy. He's a really devout Christian, a football coach, and he's an activist that has worked on homeless and poverty issues.""
King and Manski want to cut through stereotypes of those who serve in Iraq. ""The stereotype of who went and fought in Vietnam has changed. It has to do with the nature of the class draft and the cost of education. Education is not affordable for middle class families. It should be everybody's birthright,"" said Manski.
King and Manski see their buddy as a symbol. Lindstrom is one of ""those who sign up for the National Guard or make some other deal with the devil"" in return for education benefits, said Manski. ""What we've got is people literally dying for an education.""
Manski added keeping education affordable affects ""people who are deciding to go to college and simply aren't able to go."" There are two choices-a debt load that previous generations have never had to shoulder, or military service.
""Tuition is going up another 14 percent in the next few years. What does that mean for 18 year-olds who grow up poor and want to go college? They want to teach, become doctors, or be social workers. Joe is the epitome of having to make that choice,"" said King.
Lindstrom has been one of Madison's leading anti-poverty activists. He and King spearheaded the grass-roots effort that raised Madison's minimum wage. Lindstrom also started the Poverty Action Network, which supports affordable housing and opposes the Iraq war.
He had nearly completed his National Guard service and was on inactive ready reserve when he was reactivated for 18 months in Iraq. Lindstrom dutifully shipped out last September. He is a legal specialist, helping the JAG. Ironically, one of his roles is to help prosecute soldiers who refuse to report for service.
""We are encouraging people to send letters to the governor and state Legislature to demand a roll back of tuition hikes. We are urging people to write to members of Congress and call for rejection of Bush's $82 billion request for continued funding of the occupation and to instead bring the kids home. Tuition hikes have a real, moral human cost,"" said Manski.
There will be a press conference to introduce the website, www.BringJoeHome.us, today at 11 a.m. in the Capitol.
