VoteVets, with Americans Against Escalation in Iraq and MoveOn, is leading the charge against the escalation in Iraq with a new TV ad. They’re targeting a number of senators who have not come out in favor of the strongest Senate resolution condemning escalation. Now VoteVets want to put this ad on the air during the Super Bowl in Washington, DC and elsewhere. They need to raise at least $91,000 today to do that. Can you contribute? Complete the form below to contribute. Your contribution will be earmarked for VoteVets Action Fund and efforts to support it through Americans Against Escalation in Iraq.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Help put new VoteVets TV ad on the Super Bowl
U.S.-Iran tensions could trigger war
and this surprises anyone?
"If Iran escalates its military action in Iraq to the detriment of our troops and/or innocent Iraqi people, we will respond firmly," Bush told National Public Radio.
Although little evidence has been made public, U.S. officials have long insisted that Iran was supplying weapons and training to Shiite militias in Iraq, including some that have killed American troops.
The No. 2 U.S. general in Iraq told USA Today in an interview published Tuesday that Iran was supplying Iraqi Shiite militias with a variety of powerful weapons, including Katyusha rockets and armor-piercing rocket-propelled grenades.
"We have weapons that we know through serial numbers ... trace back to Iran," Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno said.
The Air Force is considering more forceful patrols on the Iraqi side of the border with Iran to counter the smuggling of weapons and bomb supplies, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing senior Pentagon officials.
The U.S. is also building up its military presence in the Gulf in what it says is a show of strength directed at Iran. A second aircraft carrier is heading for the region, and Patriot missile batteries are being deployed.
Since Bush announced his new Iraq strategy in early January, Iranian officials have raised the alarm repeatedly that the U.S. intends to attack. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran is "ready for anything" in its confrontation with the United States.
A newspaper close to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei last week threatened retaliation for any U.S. military action — including stopping oil traffic through the Gulf's strategic Hormuz Straits and attacks on U.S. interests. The top editor of the Kayhan daily warned that Iran will turn the Middle East into "hell" for the United States and Israel if America attacks.
Iran expert Ray Takeyh said the risks are all the greater because Tehran has an "unhealthy" disregard for American power, which "enhances the prospect of a miscalculation."
Prof. Gary Sick, a leading authority on Iran, believes the U.S. is seeking to divert world attention from the crisis in Iraq and organize a coalition of Israel and conservative Sunni Arab states to confront Iran.
"I see this as a very dangerous long-term policy because it promotes the idea that Sunnis and Shiites should be distrustful of each other, and I think that could come back and bite us later on," he said.
Source: U.S.-Iran tensions could trigger war - Yahoo! News
"Feingold Justifies Cutting off Bush's War [VIDEO]"
The good folks at PoliticsTV videotaped this Senate Judiciary Hearing on Congress's Constitutional Right to cut off funding for the war on Iraq.
There is no mealy-mouthed, namby-pamby speak here. In the Framers' brilliant design, Feingold says, Congress got the power of the purse, and the president got the power of the sword. They had the foresight to separate the two.
Of Cheney's recent pronouncement that Congress could not stop him and Bush from the War on Iraq, Feingold responded: "In the United States of America the People are sovereign, NOT the president..."
The video is over 7 minutes...
Source: AlterNet: Blogs: Video: Feingold Justifies Cutting off Bush's War [VIDEO]
'Young Marine Dies Of PTSD'
He died earlier this month at the age of 25 -- not in Iraq, but back home, in Minnesota.
He died of wounds received during his seven-month tour of duty in Iraq, wounds different from the ones that earned Schulze two purple hearts. This young man died of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, of wounds to the soul and not the flesh. He died because the government that was there to send him far away to fight in 2004 wasn't there for him when he got home.
Schulze had a harrowing time in Iraq, spending time in the heated battles of Ramadi in April, 2004. While he was there, 35 Marines in his unit were killed, including 17 of them in just 48 hours of combat.
The young Marine was wounded twice in battle but returned home to...
rebuild his life and to cope with the things he had seen, things he had done and friends he had lost. But, by the time he was discharged from the Marines in late 2005, he was deeply troubled with images of combat and violence that he could not get out of his mind.
According to Minnesota press reports, Schulze went to the Veterans Administration (VA) center in Minneapolis on December 14, 2006, met with a psychiatrist and was told that he could only be admitted for treatment four months later, in March.
On January 11, 2007, accompanied by his parents, he went to the VA hospital in St. Cloud, Minnesota and told people at that VA facility that he was thinking of killing himself. They told Schulze that they could not admit him as a patient and sent him on his way.
The next day, January 12, Schulze called the VA, reiterating that he was feeling suicidal. He was told that he was number 26 on the waiting list.
A man who had risked his life in Iraq and done everything that was asked of him by the United States government, was told by that same government that his sacrifice would be repaid by being 26th on a list of Veterans similarly crying out for help.
"Jonathan wanted help so bad," said Marianne Schulze, Jonathan's stepmother. "At the end of the conversation, Jonathan got off the phone so distressed."
On January 16, Schulze called his family and told them that he was going to do it -- he was going to kill himself. His family called the local police, who raced to his house, kicked in his door and found him hanging from an electrical cord.
Attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful.
Source: AlterNet: Blogs: PEEK: Young Marine Dies Of PTSD - And Neglect
a quote about the US...
"The United States is like the guy at the party who gives cocaine to everybody and still nobody likes him." - Jim Samuels - View more Random Quotes...
Source: Random Quotes
"Bush Is Not Above the Law"
LAST August, a federal judge found that the president of the United States broke the law, committed a serious felony and violated the Constitution. Had the president been an ordinary citizen — someone charged with bank robbery or income tax evasion — the wheels of justice would have immediately begun to turn. The F.B.I. would have conducted an investigation, a United States attorney’s office would have impaneled a grand jury and charges would have been brought.
But under the Bush Justice Department, no F.B.I. agents were ever dispatched to padlock White House files or knock on doors and no federal prosecutors ever opened a case.
The ruling was the result of a suit, in which I am one of the plaintiffs, brought against the National Security Agency by the American Civil Liberties Union. It was a response to revelations by this newspaper in December 2005 that the agency had been monitoring the phone calls and e-mail messages of Americans for more than four years without first obtaining warrants from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, as required by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
In the past, even presidents were not above the law. When the F.B.I. turned up evidence during Watergate that Richard Nixon had obstructed justice by trying to cover up his involvement, a special prosecutor was named and a House committee recommended that the president be impeached.
And when an independent counsel found evidence that President Bill Clinton had committed perjury in the Monica Lewinsky case, the impeachment machinery again cranked into gear, with the spectacle of a Senate trial (which ended in acquittal).
Laws are broken, the federal government investigates, and the individuals involved — even if they’re presidents — are tried and, if found guilty, punished. That is the way it is supposed to work under our system of government. But not this time.
Young student's documentary leaving audiences stunned
Kiri Davis is a young filmmaker whose high school documentary has left audiences at film festivals across the country stunned -- and has re-ignited a powerful debate over race.
Source: KOMO-TV - Video - Video - Young student's documentary leaving audiences stunned
The Last Question
by
Isaac AsimovThis is by far my favorite story of all those I have written.
After all, I undertook to tell several trillion years of human history in the space of a short story and I leave it to you as to how well I succeeded. I also undertook another task, but I won't tell you what that was lest l spoil the story for you.
It is a curious fact that innumerable readers have asked me if I wrote this story. They seem never to remember the title of the story or (for sure) the author, except for the vague thought it might be me. But, of course, they never forget the story itself especially the ending. The idea seems to drown out everything -- and I'm satisfied that it should.
continued...
Source: The Last Question
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Senators warn against war with Iran
The Bush administration has increased rhetorical, diplomatic, military and economic pressure on Iran over the past few months, in response to Iran's alleged deadly help for extremists fighting U.S. troops in Iraq and the long-running dispute over Iran's nuclear program.
Bush said Tuesday the United States "will deal with it" if Iran escalates military action inside Iraq and endangers American forces. But, in an interview with ABC News, Bush emphasized this talk signals no intention of invading Iran itself.
A day earlier, the president acknowledged skepticism concerning U.S. intelligence about Iran, because Washington was wrong in accusing Iraq of harboring weapons of mass destruction before the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. "I'm like a lot of Americans that say, 'Well, if it wasn't right in Iraq, how do you know it's right in Iran,'" the president said.
Source: Senators warn against war with Iran - Yahoo! News
US strike group transits Suez Canal
The United States has not had two carriers in the Mideast since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
The Bataan will join a second amphibious assault ship, the USS Boxer, which was on port visit in Dubai on Tuesday.
Brown said the Pentagon recently extended the tour of duty of the Boxer's US Marine Expeditionary Unit, which is in Iraq.
The Bataan is on a routine six-month deployment to the region to conduct "maritime security operations" which includes boarding and searching ships suspected of carrying terrorists or nuclear components to Iran, the Navy said.
Source: US strike group transits Suez Canal Jerusalem Post
Congress can stop Iraq war
WASHINGTON, Jan 30 (Reuters) - The U.S. Congress has the power to end the war in Iraq, several high-powered legal experts including a former Bush administration attorney told a Senate hearing on Tuesday.
With many lawmakers poised to confront President George W. Bush by voting disapproval of his war policy in the coming days, four of five experts called before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee said Congress could go further and restrict or stop U.S. involvement if it chose.
"I think the constitutional scheme does give Congress broad authority to terminate a war," said Bradford Berenson, a Washington lawyer who was a White House associate counsel under Bush from 2001 to 2003.
"It is ultimately Congress that decides the size, scope and duration of the use of military force," said Walter Dellinger, former acting solicitor general -- the government's chief advocate before the Supreme Court -- in 1996-97, and an assistant attorney general three years before that.
(more...)
Source: Reuters AlertNet - Congress can stop Iraq war, experts tell lawmakers
Tell President Bush: Do Not Send More Troops to Iraq Petition
Recently, President Bush had an opportunity to announce that he would begin to bring our troops home. Instead, he made the choice to escalate our involvement in Iraq's civil war by sending in 21,500 more troops.
Our troops and their families have served our nation courageously and sacrificed enough! But with each State of the Union address, Bush announces a major strategic shift for Iraq that is nothing more than the same failed tactics all over again.
President Bush: We The People do not support the plan to escalate the troop levels in Iraq!
The truth is simple: adding additional troops has already been tried and it has already failed. Democrats, Republicans and the bipartisan Iraq Study Group have all offered President Bush a roadmap to turn Iraq over to the Iraqis, begin the phased redeployment of American troops and end our open-ended commitment. There is a better way.Tell President Bush that we need a real change of course in Iraq!
Click Here to Sign the Petition
Source: Tell President Bush: Do Not Send More Troops to Iraq Petition
Freedom To Marry
America is engaged in a crucial conversation, a conversation about basic values of love, commitment, fairness, and freedom. In every state, in many families, good people are thinking and talking about how excluding same-sex couples from marriage harms them, their kids, and our country.
How can you add your voice to this conversation?
Source: Freedom To Marry
Poor Are Priced out of Healthful Eating
I'm one of the poor that is priced out of healthful eating. I'm not allotted Food Stamps because my family of 3 makes too much money. Too much money being $1,800 per month to feed, house, and clothe 2 adults and 1 child. So, we are forced to utilize food pantries after spending the $300 dollars (per month) we can afford for food after the rent & bills are paid for.
"A lot of low-income, disabled and seniors end up having Class B food," she said. "I believe organic and very fresh or frozen food would be optimum for me, but I have to make compromises because of the money."
Adam Drewnowski argues that economics is often left out of the equation when people talk about healthful eating.
"When you start looking at the nutritious food that you're told we ought to be eating, they cost a lot of money," said Drewnowski, director of the University of Washington's Center for Public Health Nutrition. "It's just amazing how nutritious food is becoming a luxury item and increasingly inaccessible to an ever larger number of people."
It's cheaper to eat energy-dense foods rich in starch, sugar or fat than it is to eat lean meats, fish and fresh produce, he said.
A Boston Medical Center study in 2005 found that the Thrifty Food Plan cost $27 more a month in Boston than the national average.
But not all numbers point to the Thrifty Food Plan being out of whack with reality. USDA researchers surveyed 34 food retailers in the nation's capital in 2000 and found that the plan averaged $3.19 less than the estimated weekly benefit. And a blogging mom and self-described policy wonk tried eating on the Thrifty Food Plan for a month using the maximum benefit and came in $50 under the monthly limit.
"Overall, I think it's realistic and not time-consuming," said Mark Lino, an economist with the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion of the U.S. Department of Agriculture who helped conduct the Washington, D.C., study. "When people shop on the Thrifty (Food Plan), they have to be more savvy shoppers -- buy in bulk, use coupons when they have them, buy generic versions of food. You have to use shopping skills."
Still, the USDA plans to revise the 1999 Thrifty Food Plan in coming months.
Some researchers, such as Diego Rose, a professor at Tulane University, say the USDA plan fails to take into account the time it takes working families to prepare meals.
Lino disagrees. "It does require some cooking time, but you're not required to stay at the stove for two hours."
Carol Tinkham makes more compromises when she shops ever since she was laid off from her job last summer. Her shopping and eating habits have changed, and she's noticed that she has gained weight.
"Being on a set fund, I couldn't eat the way I was used to eating," she said. "I couldn't afford all the good things I used to buy, like lean meats."
She used to buy locally grown grapes, plums and apples when they were in season, but it's rare if she can afford a red pepper at $1 or $2 apiece. These days, she tends to buy frozen dinners when they're on sale at 10 for $10.
"Normally, I wouldn't buy that, but you could afford to have those," she said.
Instead of buying lean meats, she opts for cheaper-grade hamburger. She knows butter is better than margarine spreads, but the latter is cheaper.
"You just have to watch what you buy," she said.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Thousands May Be Involuntarily Called for Tours
Thousands may be involuntarily called for tours 28 Jan 2007 Hundreds of thousands of National Guard and Reserve members previously mobilized for tours in Iraq and Afghanistan are exposed anew to involuntary call-up under a policy change unveiled with President [sic] Bush's plan to "surge" forces into Baghdad. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he has rescinded a rule, set in 2002, that barred involuntary mobilization of reserve personnel beyond a "cumulative" 24-month ceiling for a wartime emergency.
Source: Citizens for Legitimate Government - Index
Anti-war Protests Draw Thousands
D.C. antiwar protest draws thousands
Jan. 27: Tens of thousands of Americans — including several celebrities — converged on Washington, D.C., on Saturday to demonstrate against the war in Iraq and urge the U.S. government to bring the troops home. NBC's John Yang reports.
Rosie O'Donnell attacks Bush & asks for his Impeachment
Finally, someone says it out loud...IMPEACH HIM! I have been a long time fan of Rosie O'Donell's. She is not only funny, intelligent and outspoken. But, she isn't afraid of what other people think of her views. I thoroughly agree with Rosie on this one...IMPEACH HIM!
Source: YouTube - Rosie O'Donnell attacks Bush and screams for his Impeachment
"Washington rally urges end to war" from Al Jazeera English - Americas
Washington rally urges end to war
Jane Fonda, actress and Vietnam war activist, said that silence over Iraq is no longer an option [AP]
Tens of thousands of anti-war protesters have rallied outside congress chanting "bring our troops home," in an attempt to pressure the government to quit Iraq.
Veterans and military families joined some congressmen, peace groups and actors to urge congress and George Bush, the US president, to stop funding the war and pull troops from Iraq.
"I thought I was serving honourably. Instead, I was sent to war ... for causes that have proved fraudulent," Garett Reppenhagen, a former sniper and Iraq war veteran, said at Saturday's rally.
"We need to put pressure on our elected government and force them to ... bring the troops home."
Tens of thousands of people attended the two-hour rally, according to a police officer.
Demonstrators' message
A group of families of soldiers killed in Iraq stood holding pictures of their loved ones, including one photo of a soldier in full dress uniform lying in a coffin.
"Bush's strategy has failed totally in Iraq"
Dimos, Hania-Crete, Greece
Hani Khalil, a member of United for Peace and Justice Group, told Al Jazeera that "demonstrators want to send a message to the new, elected congress that the Americans are against the war in Iraq".
Stephanie, a student from New York, told Al Jazeera’s correspondent: "We never had a good purpose for going to Iraq and it is ridiculous now to send more troops there. American students do not support this."
The protest was one of several expected around the country on Saturday, including a large march scheduled in Los Angeles.
Protesters planned co-ordinated efforts during the week to lobby congressmen to take action against the war.
Civilians killed
Iraq Body Count (IBC), an independent website that uses two media reports as a source for each death, says up to 60,600 civilians have been reported killed.
"I'm so sad we have to do this - that we did not learn from the lessons of the Vietnam war"
Jane Fonda, former actress
Asked about the protests, Gordon Johndroe, a White House national security adviser, said: "Bush understands that Americans want to see a conclusion to the war in Iraq and the new strategy is designed to do just that."
Protesters said they hoped to send Bush and congress a message that Americans did not support the war.
"I'm convinced this is Bush's war. He has his own agenda there," said Anne Chay, holding a sign with a picture of her 19-year-old son, John, who is serving in Iraq. "We're serving no purpose there."
Chay said her son, who has been in Baghdad since last July, said he was proud of her for travelling from Andover, Massachusetts, to take part in the anti-war rally.
'Silence is not an option'
Jane Fonda, a former actress, who was criticised for her opposition to the Vietnam war, drew huge cheers when she addressed the crowd. She noted that she had not spoken at an anti-war rally in 34 years.
"Silence is no longer an option," she said. "I'm so sad we have to do this - that we did not learn from the lessons of the Vietnam war."
John Conyers, a Michigan Democrat and chair of the House Judiciary Committee, said the November 7 election - which gave Democrats control of both houses of Congress - showed Americans want change.
"It takes the ... outrage of the American people to force Washington to do the right thing."
"We've got to hold more of these ... until our government gets the message; 'out if Iraq immediately'. This year. We've got to go."
War dead
Bush's approval ratings stand at one the lowest points of his presidency and polls show a majority of Americans disapprove Bush's plan to send an additional 21,500 troops to Iraq.
More than 3,000 US troops have been killed since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, according to the US Department of Defense.
It has not provided estimates of Iraqi civilian deaths.
The Iraqi health ministry estimates up to 150,000 Iraqis have been killed in the war, based on records from hospitals and morgues.
The Lancet, the UK-based medical journal, has estimated about 655,000 Iraqis have died as a consequence of the war.
Source: Al Jazeera and Agencies
Source: Al Jazeera English - Americas
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Rural America Pays the Price for War in Iraq
American dead of the Iraq and Afghan occupations come disproportionately from rural America.
When we hear about the American dead in Iraq, we normally learn about the circumstances in which they died. January 20 for instance, was, for American troops, the third bloodiest day since the Bush administration launched its invasion in March 2003 -- 27 of them died.Twelve went down in a Blackhawk helicopter over Diyala Province, probably hit by a shoulder-fired missile. Five died under somewhat surprising and mysterious circumstances. They were attacked in a supposedly secure facility in the Shiite city of Karbala by gunmen who, despite their telltale beards, were dressed to imitate American soldiers and managed to drive through city checkpoints in exceedingly official-looking armored SUVs. They could, of course, have been members of Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army, but were probably Sunni insurgents from a neighboring province. The rest of the Americans in that total died as a result of roadside bombs (IEDs) around Baghdad or fighting with Sunni insurgents, mainly in al-Anbar Province. The Pentagon announcements on which such news is based are usually terse in the extreme. The totals, 29 dead for the weekend (as well as hundreds of Iraqis), did, however, become major TV and front-page news around the country.
(more...)
Source: AlterNet: War on Iraq: Rural America Pays the Price for War in Iraq
Voters First Pledge - Common Cause
Voters First Pledge Campaign
Common Cause and other reform groups launched the “Voters First” pledge campaign to build public and political support for comprehensive public financing of congressional campaigns. The midterm election on November 7 gave Congress a mandate to act on these reforms and to prevent future corruption and ethical scandals. The Voters First pledge outlines specific policies to make elections fair for all, restore congressional accountability, and protect voters' right-to-know.
Voters elected 109 candidates who either signed the Pledge or were co-sponsors of a federal bill to publicly fund congressional elections. This includes 21 newly-elected members of Congress who signed the Voters First pledge during their campaigns. All told, the number of supporters in the new Congress has easily more than doubled, and voters have made it clear that they want to see an end to the corruption stemming from the influence of big money campaign donors.
With the new Congress about to be sworn in, we're pushing them to heed this call and pass strong new campaign finance reforms. To see the full list of supporters and whether your Rep. and Senator are on board, visit http://www.votersfirstpledge.org/. You can help by writing a letter to the editor of your local paper, and you can learn more below.
Learn more and take action
We need to continue pushing and publicizing this effort, and you can help. Please take a few minutes to write a letter to the editor to support the Voters First reforms. Click here for tips and a sample letter to make it quick and easy.
Read the coalition press release on the election results.
The Voters First Pledge website has a full list of candidates who have signed onto the Pledge pre-election, a copy of the Pledge to view and download, as well as information on how you can become a part of the campaign.
To learn more about Clean Elections, visit our "What is Public Financing?" page. You can also read about the success of Clean Elections in the states here, and read what political leaders and major news publications have to say about Clean Elections here.
Common Cause and other reform groups commissioned a survey of voters to see where the public stands on Clean Elections. You can see the results here.
Sign the Petition - Get It Straight By 2008
2006 is the third election in a row shadowed by questions about the integrity of voting machines, something most Americans never dreamed could happen. Together we can make the 2006 election the tipping point—the moment when demand for an auditable, verifiable voting system forced Congress to act.
This year, 18,382 votes have been LOST in Sarasota County, Florida, on touch screen voting machines with no paper trail. Without serious reforms, we're headed for a meltdown in 2008.
Urge your Senator to support legislation for paper trails and random audits for ALL electronic ballots.
Source: Sign the Petition - Get It Straight By 2008
Friday, January 26, 2007
Escalation of US Iran military planning part of six-year Administration push
A project of Raw Story Investigates
(Click here to read the full timeline of the decades-long buildup to Iran)
The escalation of US military planning on Iran is only the latest chess move in a six-year push within the Bush Administration to attack Iran, a RAW STORY investigation has found.
While Iran was named a part of President George W. Bush’s “axis of evil” in 2002, efforts to ignite a confrontation with Iran date back long before the post-9/11 war on terror. Presently, the Administration is trumpeting claims that Iran is closer to a nuclear weapon than the CIA’s own analysis shows and positing Iranian influence in Iraq’s insurgency, but efforts to destabilize Iran have been conducted covertly for years, often using members of Congress or non-government actors in a way reminiscent of the 1980s Iran-Contra scandal.
The motivations for an Iran strike were laid out as far back as 1992. In classified defense planning guidance – written for then-Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney by then-Pentagon staffers I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, World Bank Chief Paul Wolfowitz, and ambassador-nominee to the United Nations Zalmay Khalilzad – Cheney’s aides called for the United States to assume the position of lone superpower and act preemptively to prevent the emergence of even regional competitors. The draft document was leaked to the New York Times and the Washington Post and caused an uproar among Democrats and many in George H. W. Bush’s Administration.
In September 2000, the Project for the New American Century (PNAC) issued a report titled “Rebuilding America's Defenses,” which espoused similar positions to the 1992 draft and became the basis for the Bush-Cheney Administration's foreign policy. Libby and Wolfowitz were among the participants in this new report; Cheney, former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other prominent figures in the Bush administration were PNAC members.
“The United States has for decades sought to play a more permanent role in Gulf regional security,” the report read. “While the unresolved conflict with Iraq provides the immediate justification, the need for a substantial American force presence in the Gulf transcends the issue of the regime of Saddam Hussein. . . . We cannot allow North Korea, Iran, Iraq or similar states to undermine American leadership, intimidate American allies or threaten the American homeland itself.”
This approach became official US military policy during the current Bush Administration. It was starkly on display yesterday when Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns noted a second aircraft carrier strike force headed for the Persian Gulf, saying, "The Middle East isn't a region to be dominated by Iran. The Gulf isn't a body of water to be controlled by Iran. That's why we've seen the United States station two carrier battle groups in the region."
The Structure
Almost immediately after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, Iran became a focal point of discussion among senior Administration officials. As early as December 2001, then-Deputy National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley and the leadership of the Defense Department, including Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, and Undersecretary of Defense Douglas Feith, allegedly authorized a series of meetings between Defense Department officials and Iranian agents abroad.
The first of these meetings took place in Rome with Pentagon Iran analyst, Larry Franklin, Middle East expert Harold Rhode, and prominent neoconservative Michael Ledeen. Ledeen, who held no official government position, introduced the US officials to Iran-Contra arms dealer Manucher Ghorbanifar. According to both Ghorbanifar and Ledeen, the topic on the table was Iran. Ledeen told RAW STORY last year the discussion concerned allegations that Iranian forces were killing US soldiers in Afghanistan, but Ghorbanifar has claimed the conversation focused on regime change.
Source: The Raw Story Escalation of US Iran military planning part of six-year Administration push
Technorati tags: Iran, war on terror, war, politics, opinion, world news, news, Bush, Bush Administration
Tens of Thousands Head to Capital to Step Up Anti-War Drive
By Jeff Zeleny and Carl Hulse
The New York Times
Friday 26 January 2007
Washington - Tens of thousands of demonstrators are set to arrive in the capital this weekend for a major Anti-War march, staging the first of several protests intended to persuade the new Democratic-controlled Congress to do more than simply speak against President Bush's Iraq policy.
But do not look for senators to be standing among the protesters on the Mall on Saturday. Despite a consensus building around a Senate resolution to oppose sending more troops to Iraq, even the most liberal Democratic senators do not appear eager to align themselves with a traditional Anti-War protest.
So the groups that are organizing the demonstrations against the president's strategy are also carrying out a sophisticated, well-financed lobbying campaign on Capitol Hill. Their behind-the-scenes efforts are intensifying, relying on tactics deployed in a cutthroat political race.
Americans Against Escalation in Iraq, a coalition of labor unions, MoveOn.org and other groups that have traditionally rallied against wars, has raised $1.5 million since it was formed two weeks ago. The group is singling out Republicans and Democrats who have spoken out against the war, but who have so far declined to pledge support for a resolution denouncing Mr. Bush's plan to increase the number of troops.
Next week, the group intends to fly Iraq veterans to the home states of Republican senators who serve on the Foreign Relations Committee and voted Wednesday against the resolution condemning the administration plan, including Senators Norm Coleman of Minnesota and John E. Sununu of New Hampshire. Television advertisements are scheduled to be shown in some of the same states in an effort to apply pressure before the Senate vote on the resolution in early February.
"The face of Anti-War is not what it was in the '70s," said Jon Soltz, a veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars who is the chairman of a group called VoteVets.
Source: Tens of Thousands Head to Capital to Step Up Anti-War Drive
Support Legislation to End the War!
"Non-binding" resolutions are not enough to stop the war plans of a President who apparently doesn't even consider the Constitution to be binding!Please click on the link below - or paste it into your browser - to send your Representative a quick email telling them that the need to support legislation to actually END the war - specifically H.R. 508, the "Bring the Troops Home and Iraqi Sovereignty Act of 2007." These people in Congress have got to hear everyone of us demanding that they not simply "disapprove" of the war - they have to end it, and stop a President who will listen to no one!
H.R. 508, the "Bring the Troops Home and Iraqi Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2007," a bill which Peace Action helped create, is the comprehensive bill we need to end the war. Please take a moment to sign the petition and send an email to your Representative in Washington, demanding that they co-sponsor this important piece of legislation.
I urge you to co-sponsor H.R. 508, the "Bring the Troops Home and Iraqi Sovereignty Act of 2007," introduced by Rep. Lynn Woolsey. This comprehensive bill would provide all necessary funds to bring our troops home (and prohibit permanent U.S. military bases there), while accelerating support for a National Iraqi police force, providing assistance for reconstruction and reconcilliation in Iraq, and guaranteeing adequate health care for all U.S. veterans.
PLEASE NOTE: Current co-sponsors of the bill, along with Reps. Woolsey, Lee and Waters, who introduced it, include Diane Watson (D-CA-33, James McGovern (D-MA-3), Raul Grijalva (D-AZ-7), Dennis Kucinich (D-OH-10), Barney Frank (D-MA-4), Maurice Hinchey (D-NY-22), John Conyers (D-MI-14), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY-8), Chaka Fattah (D-PA-2), Bob Filner (D-CA-51), William “Lacy” Clay (D-M0-1), Donald Payne (D-NJ-10), Steve Cohen (D-TN-9), and Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX-18).
Source: Peace Action
the 'lies inside your head'...
The truth may be out there, but the lies are inside your head." - Terry Pratchett, A Discworld Novel - View more Random Quotes...
Impeachment: The Case in Favor
Elizabeth Holtzman
Public anger at Bush has been mounting. On November 7 voters swept away Republican control of the House and Senate. The President's poll numbers continue to drop.
These facts should signal a propitious moment for impeachment proceedings to start. Yet House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has taken impeachment "off the table." (Impeachment proceedings must commence in the House of Representatives.) Her position doesn't mean impeachment is dead; it simply means a different route to it has to be pursued. Congressional investigations must start, and public pressure must build to make the House act.
This is no different from what took place during Watergate. In 1973 impeachment was not "on the table" for many months while President Nixon's cover-up unraveled, even though Democrats controlled the House and Senate. But when Nixon fired the special prosecutor to avoid making his White House tapes public, the American people were outraged and put impeachment on the table, demanding that Congress act. That can happen again.
Congressional and other investigations that previously found serious misconduct in the Nixon White House made the public's angry reaction to the firing of the special prosecutor--and the House response with impeachment proceedings--virtually inevitable. Early in 1973, once it appeared that the cover-up might involve the White House, the Senate created a select committee to investigate. The committee held hearings and uncovered critical evidence, including the existence of a White House taping system that could resolve the issue of presidential complicity. The Senate also forced the Attorney General to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Watergate. Other committees looked into related matters. None of the investigations were prompted by the idea of impeachment. Still, they laid the groundwork for it--and the evidence they turned up was used by the House impeachment panel to prepare articles of impeachment against Nixon.
The same approach can govern now. Senate and House committees must commence serious investigations that could uncover more evidence to support impeachment. The investigations should ascertain the full extent of the President's deceptions, exaggerations and lies that drove us into the Iraq War. (They can simply in effect resurrect Republican Senator Howard Baker's famous questions about Richard Nixon: "What did the President know and when did he know it?") Congress should also explore the wiretapping that has violated the FISA law, the President's role in mistreatment of detainees and his gross indifference to the catastrophe facing the residents of New Orleans from Katrina.
Investigations should also be conducted into Vice President Cheney's meetings with oil company executives at the outset of the Administration. If divvying up oil contracts in Iraq were discussed, as some suggest, this would help prove that the Iraq War had been contemplated well before 9/11, and that a key motivation was oil. Inquiries into Halliburton's multibillion-dollar no-bid contracts should also be conducted, particularly given Cheney's ties to the company.
White House documents about Katrina that have not already been turned over to Congress should be sought to document further the President's failure to discharge his constitutional duty to help the people of New Orleans.
Our country's Founders provided the power of impeachment to prevent the subversion of the Constitution. President Bush has subverted and defied the Constitution in many ways. His defiance and his subversion continue.
Failure to impeach Bush would condone his actions. It would allow him to assume he can simply continue to violate the laws on wiretapping and torture and violate other laws as well without fear of punishment. He could keep the Iraq War going or expand it even further than he just has on the basis of more lies, deceptions and exaggerations. Remember, as recently as October 26, Bush said, "Absolutely, we are winning" the war in Iraq--a blatant falsehood. Worse still, if Congress fails to act, Bush might be emboldened to believe he may start another war, perhaps against Iran, again on the basis of lies, deceptions and exaggerations.
There is no remedy short of impeachment to protect us from this President, whose ability to cause damage in the next two years is enormous. If we do not act against Bush, we send a terrible message of impunity to him and to future Presidents and mark a clear path to despotism and tyranny. Succeeding generations of Americans will never forgive us for lacking the nerve to protect our democracy.
Source: Impeachment: The Case in Favor
Bush: 'I'm the decision-maker' in Iraq troops
Ummmmm...so when are we going to impeach him?
WASHINGTON - President Bush, on a collision course with Congress over Iraq, said Friday “I’m the decision-maker” about sending more troops to the war. He challenged skeptical lawmakers not to prematurely condemn his buildup.
“I’ve picked the plan that I think is most likely to succeed,” Bush said in an Oval Office meeting with senior military advisers.
The president had strong words for lawmakers on both sides of the aisle who are lining up to support resolutions opposing his decision to send 21,500 troops to Iraq. He challenged them to put up their own ideas.
“I know there is skepticism and pessimism and that some are condemning a plan before it’s even had a chance to work,” the president said. “They have an obligation and a serious responsibility therefore to put up their own plan as to what would work.”
Despite doubts in Congress and among the public about his strategy, Bush said lawmakers agree that failure in Iraq would be a disaster and that he chose a strategy that he and his advisers thought would help turn the tide in Iraq.
Source: Bush: 'I'm the decision-maker' in Iraq troops - Politics - MSNBC.com
Troops Authorized to Kill Iranian Operatives in Iraq
The Bush administration has authorized the U.S. military to kill or capture Iranian operatives inside Iraq as part of an aggressive new strategy to weaken Tehran's influence across the Middle East and compel it to give up its nuclear program, according to government and counterterrorism officials with direct knowledge of the effort.
For more than a year, U.S. forces in Iraq have secretly detained dozens of suspected Iranian agents, holding them for three to four days at a time. The "catch and release" policy was designed to avoid escalating tensions with Iran and yet intimidate its emissaries. U.S. forces collected DNA samples from some of the Iranians without their knowledge, subjected others to retina scans, and fingerprinted and photographed all of them before letting them go.
Last summer, however, senior administration officials decided that a more confrontational approach was necessary, as Iran's regional influence grew and U.S. efforts to isolate Tehran appeared to be failing. The country's nuclear work was advancing, U.S. allies were resisting robust sanctions against the Tehran government, and Iran was aggravating sectarian violence in Iraq."There were no costs for the Iranians," said one senior administration official. "They are hurting our mission in Iraq, and we were bending over backwards not to fight back."
Three officials said that about 150 Iranian intelligence officers, plus members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Command, are believed to be active inside Iraq at any given time. There is no evidence the Iranians have directly attacked U.S. troops in Iraq, intelligence officials said.
Source: Troops Authorized to Kill Iranian Operatives in Iraq - washingtonpost.com
ONE Quote on Poverty
Help Fight Poverty
Hey,
I just took action with the ONE Campaign to ask President Bush to fund poverty fighting programs in 2008. You can help by writing the president here:
http://action.one.org/dia/organizationsONE/one/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=1299
Check out this e-mail from Josh Peck at ONE for more info:
From: Josh Peck, ONE.org
Date: Thursday, January 25, 2007
Subject: National Priorities
Dear ONE Member,
Last night, the president not only highlighted extreme poverty as a national priority, but also invited Dikembe Matombo, NBA star and ONE member, as his special guest.
We've come a long way.
In the past, presidents have sometimes failed to even mention the fight against extreme poverty. In part, because of your work over the last year, President Bush reaffirmed his commitment to the fight against extreme poverty and global AIDS. Now we need to make sure that the White House takes the next step for this bold vision by fully funding poverty-focused development assistance in his 2008 budget request.
Send a letter to President Bush asking him to fully fund the fight against extreme poverty and global disease in his budget request to Congress.
http://action.one.org/dia/organizationsONE/one/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=1299&t=OneColumn.dwt
As Congress and the president work together in the coming year, we have an opportunity to make real progress. Both parties agree that development assistance is one of the most cost-effective and powerful tools we have to create a better, safer world. Yet, the United States is ranked next to last amongst wealthy countries in terms of how much we spend on lifting up developing nations. The amount of money it takes to save lives and help developing countries is tiny -- just an additional 1% -- compared to our massive 2.8 trillion dollar federal budget.
This is one of our best opportunities to change that. When the president submits his budget request to Congress in the next two weeks, it will shape the conversation for the coming year. At this moment, a letter from you means so much more, because the president so rarely hears from constituents about global poverty.
Send a letter to President Bush asking him to fully fund poverty-focused development assistance in his 2008 budget request.
http://action.one.org/dia/organizationsONE/one/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=1299&t=OneColumn.dwt
We have come a long way in the last two years, imagine what we can achieve in two more.
Thank you for your voice,
Josh Peck, ONE.org
Take action now at http://action.one.org/one/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=1299&t=OneColumn.dwt
I just took action with the ONE Campaign to ask President Bush to fund poverty fighting programs in 2008. You can help by writing the president here:
http://action.one.org/dia/organizationsONE/one/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=1299
Check out this e-mail from Josh Peck at ONE for more info:
From: Josh Peck, ONE.org
Date: Thursday, January 25, 2007
Subject: National Priorities
Dear ONE Member,
Last night, the president not only highlighted extreme poverty as a national priority, but also invited Dikembe Matombo, NBA star and ONE member, as his special guest.
We've come a long way.
In the past, presidents have sometimes failed to even mention the fight against extreme poverty. In part, because of your work over the last year, President Bush reaffirmed his commitment to the fight against extreme poverty and global AIDS. Now we need to make sure that the White House takes the next step for this bold vision by fully funding poverty-focused development assistance in his 2008 budget request.
Send a letter to President Bush asking him to fully fund the fight against extreme poverty and global disease in his budget request to Congress.
http://action.one.org/dia/organizationsONE/one/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=1299&t=OneColumn.dwt
As Congress and the president work together in the coming year, we have an opportunity to make real progress. Both parties agree that development assistance is one of the most cost-effective and powerful tools we have to create a better, safer world. Yet, the United States is ranked next to last amongst wealthy countries in terms of how much we spend on lifting up developing nations. The amount of money it takes to save lives and help developing countries is tiny -- just an additional 1% -- compared to our massive 2.8 trillion dollar federal budget.
This is one of our best opportunities to change that. When the president submits his budget request to Congress in the next two weeks, it will shape the conversation for the coming year. At this moment, a letter from you means so much more, because the president so rarely hears from constituents about global poverty.
Send a letter to President Bush asking him to fully fund poverty-focused development assistance in his 2008 budget request.
http://action.one.org/dia/organizationsONE/one/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=1299&t=OneColumn.dwt
We have come a long way in the last two years, imagine what we can achieve in two more.
Thank you for your voice,
Josh Peck, ONE.org
Take action now at http://action.one.org/one/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=1299&t=OneColumn.dwt
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Military, media divide grows
While I was waiting to manifest on the flight to Fallujah, CNN played a news segment of President Bush announcing there would be no "graceful exit" from Iraq and that we'd stay until the mission was complete. Two sergeants in the room cheered. Loudly. They then scoffed at the reports from Baghdad, and jeered the balcony reporting.
In nearly every conversation, the soldiers, Marines and contractors expressed that they were upset with the coverage of the war in Iraq in general and the public perception of the daily situation on the ground. They felt the media was there to sensationalize the news, and several stated some reporters were only interested in "blood and guts."
Yet, they freely admitted the obstacles in front of them in Iraq.
Most recognized that while we are winning the war on the battlefield, albeit with difficulties in some areas, we are losing the information war. They felt the media had abandoned them.
During each conversation, I was left in the awkward situation of having to explain that while, yes, I am wearing a press badge--I'm not "one of them." I used descriptions like "independent journalist" or "blogger"--in an attempt to separate myself from the pack.
This isn't the first time I've encountered this sentiment from the troops. I experienced this attitude from the Marines while I was in western Iraq last year, and the soldiers in the Canadian Army in Afghanistan also expressed frustration with the media's presentation of the war.
I've always said that the hardest thing about embedding (besides leaving my family) is wearing the badge that says "PRESS." That hasn't changed. I hide the badge whenever I can get away with it.
Bill is currently embedded in Iraq and writes at billroggio.com
Source: The Raw Story Raw introduces Iraq correspondent as military, media divide grows
Is Chavez Becoming Castro?
Hugo Chavez has gone through more chiefs of staff than Venezuela has had Miss Universes — which is quite a few. So when the Venezuelan President tapped his older brother Adan for the job last year, few outside Miraflores Palace took notice. They should have. Adan, since then appointed education minister, is Hugo's chief Marxist consultant — and a driving force behind Chavez's harder-than-usual left turn since his re-election last month. Chavez has announced plans to shut down an opposition-run TV network and nationalize Venezuela's largest telephone and electricity firms, while pushing his rubber-stamp Congress to allow him to run for re-election indefinitely and rule by decree well into 2008. It's no wonder Chavez watchers compare Adan to Latin America's other conspicuous First Brother, Raul Castro, who would succeed Fidel.
To many in Washington, the emergence of Adan is one more reminder of Chavez's autocratic urges — and of the possibility that Chavez himself is Fidel Castro's real successor in Latin America. His nationalization scheme evokes the seizure of private businesses in Cuba after Castro's 1959 communist revolution: it ousts U.S.-based companies like Verizon, part-owner of the Venezuelan telecom giant CANTV, and the AES Corporation, which controls Venezuela's main power utility. Chavez asserted this week that while he'll compensate both U.S. firms, he won't pay them a market rate. And when the Bush Administration raised concerns about his burgeoning presidential powers, Chavez replied, in his usual charming fashion, "Go to hell, gringos!"
Yet, by objective standards, Chavez is still not Castro. Says one Chavez official, "We're a hell of a long way from a [Castro-style] regime." Chavez gushingly admires and subsidizes Castro. But many officials in Caracas, especially younger ones, wince when you equate the two. They insist their democratically elected commandante is hardly poised to snuff out free speech and free enterprise or stoke armed revolution abroad. Chavez may control the hemisphere's largest oil reserves, but they believe he can't afford to squander a more valuable commodity — his democratic legitimacy, something Castro never had and which gives Chavez the ability to blunt U.S. efforts to cast him as the Caribbean's new communist caudillo.
Source: Is Chavez Becoming Castro? -- Thursday, Jan. 25, 2007 -- Page 1 -- TIME
Bloggers in Print
For bloggers who yearn to see their words printed offline, Adam Bellow, a 20-year book publishing veteran (and son of novelist Saul Bellow), is now giving them the chance. Bellow's new project, the New Pamphleteer (TNP), aspires to be the publisher of choice for online pundits. The company doesn't intend to simply recycle old blog posts, but will also commission new work from popular bloggers that is not available online. For now, the print runs are small, in the hundreds, but Bellow hopes it's only the beginning.
Bellow and his business partner, David Bernstein, also an experienced publishing hand, are betting that these bite-sized books are the perfect way to capture the best voices of the blogosphere in an easy-to-read format. Says Bellow: "Pamphlets are the ideal form for the needs of the intelligent reader in our fast-paced, media-saturated, ADD culture." The average TNP pamphlet averages 40 to 80 pages. Small enough to cart around easily (4x6 inches), they run $4 apiece on TNP's website.
But who will read them? "The community of people who blog and read blogs, in specific areas of interest ranging from politics to food and from fashion to philosophy," says Bellow. "Beyond that, I have in mind the much larger audience of people who know that blogs exist but lack the time or inclination to sift through the enormous flow of verbiage to find the best that has been thought and said online."
Source: Bloggers in Print -- Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2007 -- Page 1 -- TIME
a quote on tolerance
"When you make a world tolerable for yourself, you make a world tolerable for others." - Anais Nin - View more Random Quotes...
Source: ::uncomfortably numb::
State of the Resolution 1/24/06
Source: State of the Resolution 1/24/06
Technorati tags: political cartoon, cartoons, political satire, satire, politics, Mark Fiore, animations
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Bush speech received favorably overall according to CNN
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Overall, President Bush's State of the Union was received favorably by a sample of speech watchers interviewed by CNN and Opinion Research Corporation immediately after his 50-minute address to a joint session of Congress.
But the poll showed that Bush registered his lowest "very positive" post-State of the Union reaction of his presidency. Bush reached a high water mark of a 60% "very positive" response immediately following his 2005 speech. In 2006, 48% of speech watchers described his address as "very positive."
As for Tuesday night's speech, only 20% of those polled had a "negative" reaction to Bush's speech, while 41% walked away with a "very positive" feeling about the speech and 37% had a "somewhat positive" reaction.
A bare majority of Americans who watched the speech said they were confident that the U.S. would achieve its goals in Iraq; 46% were not confident. Compare that to the 2004 State of the Union, less than a year after the start of the Iraq war, when 71% of people who watched that speech expressed confidence about Iraq.
On the issue of bipartisanship, 53% of speech watchers said Bush's remarks were more likely to lead to cooperation between Democrats and the White House, while 43% did not think the address would help bridge the political differences.
The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll interviewed 370 adult Americans -- 32% Republican, 31% Democrat and 36% Independent -- who watched Bush's speech.
Full poll results: http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2007/images/01/23/top3.pdf-- CNN Polling Director Keating Holland and CNN Political Editor Mark Preston
Source: CNN.com - CNN Political Ticker
Israeli President faces sexual assault charges...
Unfortunately, this is all too true...
by Steve O @ 9:56 am
I guess it’s true, killing millions of innocent people will not get you impeached or arrested but don’t you dare commit an unfavorable sexual act while in office.
At least Clinton’s stuff was consentual!
Source: Bring it On! » Blog Archive » Israeli President faces sexual assault charges
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Bush challenges foes of Iraq troop plan - Yahoo! News
WASHINGTON - A politically weakened President Bush implored a skeptical Congress Tuesday night to embrace his unpopular plan to send more U.S. troops to Iraq, saying it represents the best hope in a war America must not lose. "Give it a chance to work," he said.
Source: Bush challenges foes of Iraq troop plan - Yahoo! News
U.S. warns Iran to back down - Yahoo! News
"The Middle East isn't a region to be dominated by Iran. The Gulf isn't a body of water to be controlled by Iran. That's why we've seen the United States station two carrier battle groups in the region," Burns said in an address to the Dubai-based Gulf Research Center, an influential think-tank.
"Iran is going to have to understand that the United States will protect its interests if Iran seeks to confront us," Burns continued.
a quotation on protesting...
"Who can protest and does not, is an accomplice in the act." - The Talmud -
View more Random Quotes...
View more Random Quotes...
Democratic Presidential Candidates Scorecard on Iraq | Democrats.com
The 2008 campaign has begun, and the Democratic presidential candidates are competing for the support of the anti-war majority - that's us, folks!
It's extremely rare for progressives to be courted by Democratic leaders, so let's make them really compete for our votes by making our position clear:
1. Deny all funds for Bush's escalation
2. Support immediate redeployment of U.S. troops, to be completed by the end of 2007 using the funds already appropriated
3. Oppose the $100 billion "Supplemental" appropriation in March and any other bills to extend the U.S. occupation of IraqWe will track the candidates' positions below. Please help us by contacting the campaigns (click on their names for the contact form). Ask them to state their position on the 3 issues above - simply copy/paste into their contact form after this introduction: "As a member of Democrats.com, I support these positions on Iraq. Do you?"
Source: Democratic Presidential Candidates Scorecard on Iraq Democrats.com
Please Join Me in the Virtual March on Washington to End the Iraq War | Democrats.com
Please join me in protesting the Iraq War through the Virtual March on Washington:
http://democrats.com/outofiraqIt only takes 1 minute - just email your Representatives in Congress:
http://www.democrats.com/peoplesemailnetwork/90You will be joining hundreds of thousands of patriotic Americans who are marching against the Iraq War in Washington DC and in cities and towns across America.
After four disastrous years, Americans oppose George Bush's escalation of the Iraq War by 68%-26%. But Bush still adamantly refuses to listen to us, and Congress is moving too slowly to stop him.
Imagine the impact if every American who opposes the war - 153 million of us - participated in the Virtual March!
http://www.democrats.com/peoplesemailnetwork/90George Bush and our Representatives in Congress know the vast majority of Americans oppose the Iraq War, but they don't know how strongly we feel. That's why it's essential for each of us to email our Representatives and tell them exactly how we feel.
We all know the devastating costs of the war:
- 3,056 American troops killed with 47,657 U.S. casualties
- Possibly 655,000 innocent Iraqi civilians killed
- $378 billion of our tax dollars thrown away, with a total estimated cost of $1-2 trillion
- Al Qaeda terrorists flocking to Iraq to learn how to kill more Americans
- Our military stretched past the breaking point with repeated redeployments
- America's international alliances and credibility in ruins
That's why we want to start bringing our troops home now.
I hope you'll take 1 minute to email your Representatives in Congress:
http://www.democrats.com/peoplesemailnetwork/90And tell all your friends to join the Virtual March on Washington:
http://democrats.com/outofiraqThank you!!!
Source: Please Join Me in the Virtual March on Washington to End the Iraq War Democrats.com
Monday, January 22, 2007
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Iraq Veterans Memorial
Gold Star Families Speak Out · Military Families Speak Out · Iraq Veterans Against the War
North Texas Vets · Veterans for Peace · Soldiers of Today and Yesterday
GI Special · United for Peace and Justice · Brave New FoundationInspired by the AIDS Quilt, the Vietnam memorial, and the New York Times biographies of the 9/11 victims, Robert Greenwald and Brave New Foundation, in partnership with numerous Iraq veterans groups, are creating a living online memorial to U.S. soldiers killed during the Iraq war. The Iraq Veterans Memorial will bear witness with the video testimonies of family, friends, co-workers, and military colleagues of those lost.
It will be unveiled on March 19th, 2007 all across the internet.
Contribute your video testimonial Host video memorial on your site March 19th
A project of the Brave New Foundation / Email: info@iraqmemorial.org
Source: Iraq Veterans Memorial
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