Oct 09 2009
The Nobel committee has done the Orwellian Swing by awarding the world’s chief war monger the Nobel Peace Prize. While perhaps there were reasons for the Prize connected with hope – there is a hope for peace with Obama, the facts on the ground suggest the Norwegians have not been paying attention.
Aug 19 2009
With the final betrayal of the progressive left still stinging like salt rubbed into a raw wound and the Pope of Hope’s filthy Judas administration in full damage control mode after Sunday’s slip by Health and Human Services Secretary Katherine Sebelius that the public option was about to have its life support unplugged. The public option (without it any ‘reform’ of health care is no more than garbage)was the feckless fallback position for the corporate puppet Obama rather than the right thing which would be national single payer insurance and in true form the white flag was already run up by the reigning lord of the jackass party. You would think with armed thugs now carring assault weapons prowling Obama town halls that he and his rotten liar cabal of Wall Street and insurance water carriers that he would be a bit less likely to alienate those who are the true base but once again it is made evident of how much we are all being played for fools and chumps and have been ever since the DLC decided to throw in with the Reagan Revolution.
Aug 11 2009
According to a report by Paul Tait of Reuters, published at Truthout.org, U.S. forces in Afghanistan have expanded to near double the level of last year, with plans to expand to 68,000 troops or more by December, up from 32,000 at the end of 2008. Currently, with both U.S. and other allied troops, there are over 100,000 soldiers facing what is reported to be a more “aggressive” and “brazen” Taliban force.
Forty-one U.S. troops died in Afghanistan in the past month; 71 allied troops overall. The article gave no figures for Afghan deaths.
Commander of U.S. forces, U.S. Army General Stanley McChrystal — formerly head of Special Forces for the Pentagon, during a time when Special Operations units were implicated in torture in Iraq — “said the resurgent Taliban have forced a change of tactics on foreign forces and warned that record casualty figures would remain high for some months” (emphasis added). No one asks why the Taliban should be stronger now, almost eight years after 9/11 — well, no one in the mainstream U.S. press.
May 25 2009
Old man what the hell you gonna kill next
Old timer who you gonna kill next
Hey bartender over here
Two more shots
And two more beers
Sir turn up the TV sound
The war has started on the ground
Just love those laser guided bombs
-Roger Waters (The Bravery of Being out of Range)
Today, Memorial Day we honor our war dead. Some could care less, it’s just another excuse for barbecue, beers, baseball and NASCAR. Little can they be bothered by any concept that men at one time were burned, butchered, gassed, shot, blown into so much bloody fucking hamburger so that they would be free to be mean-spirited, fat, drunk and stupid lemmings. Their silly, meaningless understanding of history is an affront to those who served with honor and paid with all so that they could be goddamned ugly, crude and indolent Americans. With the fascist police state now fully implemented and Lord Obama talking nonsense about “preventative detention” all of those war deaths, even the ones dressed up in the monstrous nonsense of the GOOD WAR have all been in vain and for nothing. The grandchildren of the men who were cut down by German artillery, mines and machine guns as they took Omaha Beach have become that which their ancestors fought against, a nation of Good Germans, willing accomplices who are no better than those who lived downwind of Auschwitz and never once questioned the smell.
Mar 18 2009
Thursday marks six years since the "shock and awe" invasion rocked Iraq and the US kept the world safe from Saddam Hussein's non-existent weapons of mass destruction.
Dick Cheney continues to insist we "won" the war in Iraq because there is a new democratic government there. There's also a new Democratic government here, and that, too, is in large part a result of the invasion and occupation.
The Obama administration isn't talking about a 100-year war, as John McCain did. Right now, it's not quite three more years until all US troops leave — and move to Afghanistan.
So why are the antiwar groups demonstrating? Are they never satisfied?
Well, I'm not, and I hope you're not, either. We need to keep the pressure on, to speed the Iraq withdrawal that currently plans to leave 50,000 troops there, and to stop the escalation in a guaranteed losing effort in Afghanistan.
Events across the country this week will mark the anniversary itself on Thursday. Friday is the Iraq Moratorium observance held on the Third Friday of every month, and Saturday is the day for marches in Washington, California — and Milwaukee.
Wisconsin, where I live, is a hotbed of antiwar activity, and organizers have planned at least 24 events that I know of, and others that I don't.
Around the country there are hundreds of events. Many are listed on the Iraq Moratorium website and others at United for Peace and Justice or ANSWER.
Join them if you can.
It ain’t over till it’s over.
Feb 25 2009
We were at an Iraq Moratorium vigil in downtown Milwaukee last week when a young man stopped to say, with a rueful smile, "Can't you give him a little time?"
He was referring to the sign a couple of students were holding, calling for an end to "Obama's occupations."
The vast majority of the people at that vigil voted for Barack Obama. There may have been a few Green votes. I'd bet my bottom dollar there weren't any McCain backers in the crowd.
So, should we be patient?
I pointed out to the young man that while it's true Obama's only been in office a month, that's been enough time for him to decide to send 17,000 more troops to Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, he's waffled on his campaign pledge to bring US troops home from Iraq in 16 months. And the report today is that he is leaning toward a 19-month withdrawal.
What's three more months when you've already been there for six years?
Not much in the grand scheme of things, right?
Unless, of course, you are one of the people who will lose their lives during those extra three months, or be wounded, or widowed, or have a loved one killed or maimed or permanently damaged psychologically.
Depending upon who's counting, more than a million Iraqis have died, several million have become refugees, and 740,000 or more women have been widowed — almost 10 per cent of the female population between the ages of 15 and 80.
We don't know for sure how many Iraqis have been killed, because we don't even care enough to count their dead.
This is not a time to ask the antiwar movement to be patient, to quietly wait an extra three months.
It's time to ask the question John Kerry asked about Vietnam: Who will be the last one to die for this mistake?
We might add: How many will die for this mistake after Obama had said it would be over?
Feb 11 2009
When your child asks, in 10 years, “What did you do end the war in Iraq, Daddy? (Mommy?), what are you going to say?
“Well, we worked really hard at it for years. We marched, and wrote letters, and held vigils, and called up Congress, and did a lot of other stuff — oh, and a lot of meetings, too.
“So did you keep it up until you made them end the war?”
“Well, not exactly. See, we worked to elect this guy who was running for president and said he would end the war if he got elected. And he won.
“So he ended the war and then you could quit protesting?”
“Something like that. More like we quit protesting and hoped he would end the war.”
“Did it end?”
“Yes, but not right away. It took a few years. Quite a few, actually.”
“Do you think maybe you quit too soon?”
“It’s getting pretty late. How about a bedtime story?”
* * *
Friday, Feb. 20, is Iraq Moratorium #18.
It is not the time to opt out of the effort to end the war and occupation of Iraq. It is a time to turn up the heat, or, at a minimum, to keep things simmering. Do something, large or small, to show you want US troops home.
And, whatever you’re planning, please list it here.
Members of Congress are going to be home next week for a recess. It’s a great chance to tell them face-to-face that we want our troops home. And talk to them about spending priorities, using the billions we are wasting in Iraq to do something constructive.
From United for Peace and Justice, the nation’s biggest antiwar coalition:
The time is now to mount a campaign to cut the military budget by ending the war and occupation of Iraq and redirect the spending of our national budget.This is also an opportunity for the antiwar movement to work with economic and social justice groups in organizing joint delegations.
Don’t go to their offices alone! Join with labor and community groups to make the first recess of the new Congress the beginning of a surge to compel them to end the war, cut the military budget and fund human needs.
If your Congressional representatives refuse to meet, or opposes the need for urgent emergency government action to respond to the economic crisis or bringing all the troops home: picket or vigil outside their office and call the press!
The opening of the debates on priorities for the next Federal Budget will follow this Congressional recess. We need to make our priorities clear! Ending the wars and occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan are the first steps to making larger cuts in the military budget and change the priorities of Federal spending.
That’s just one idea. There are hundreds of things you can do to observe the Iraq Moratorium. Need ideas? Visit the website: IraqMoratorium.com.
What are you and me gonna do to end the war, Daddy and Mommy?
Feb 10 2009
A reminder that change may have come to Washington, but it hasn’t made it to Iraq yet.
Iraq Moratorium #19 is only 10 days away, on Friday, Feb. 20.
Here’s one idea for action from United for Peace and Justice: Schedule a meeting with your members of Congress, who will be home on a recess that week, and ask them to end the war and occupation of Iraq.
Of course you can always protest outside of their offices. But why not ask for a face-to-face conversation and see what happens? UFPJ says:
To make sure you can get appointments with your elected officials you need to call now. Go here to find out who your Representative or Senators are and their contact information. We want members of Congress to know they are getting calls from UFPJ. We want legislators to know that we are connecting the issues of the war and the economy.
There are three messages we want to deliver to the members of Congress.
1) The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan must end! We believe that security will be forged internationally and diplomatically, not by the United States unilaterally occupying nations. Furthermore, the economic crisis has created and exposed tremendous human needs in our own country. Millions are without health care, stable housing, and living wage jobs. The priority of the national treasury must go from a war economy to a peace economy where the winners are all of us, rather than military contractors. A first step in this process must be to stop the funding for these wars! It is critically important that Congress knows the antiwar movement is as strong as ever.
2) It is time to fix our country’s health care system! We encourage you to support HR 676, the Single Payer Health Care bill. Passage of HR 676 would mean that health care is provided by a single source, rather than dozens of private insurance companies making profits. This would be a cheaper way to cover health care costs, as it is all over the world where governments guarantee health care. Health insurance being separated from employment would also help U.S. corporations who cannot compete with international corporations, who do not have to provide employee health care. For more information on this bill go here.
3) We support passage of the Employee Free Choice Act! This bill allows workers to unionize when a majority of people demonstrates their support for a union representing them by signing union cards. Passage of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) would result in more workplaces being unionized. With unionization, workers get the benefit of collective bargaining, which results in higher wages. Higher wages means more spending power that boosts the economy; higher wages means families can be supported without every adult working multiple jobs, which leaves little time for families, children, and being an informed citizen. For more information on this bill go to
AFL-CIO site.Support for both HR 676 and EFCA is a good place to start. UFPJ member groups such as Progressive Democrats of America and US Labor Against the War are already working on them.
Everyone doesn’t live in a town where there is a Congressional office, of course. But you can bring cell phones and contact numbers to your Moratorium event and place calls from there. Keep the heat on.
This idea also ties in with the Raise Hell for Molly Ivins Campaign, which has been urging contact with members of Congress, in their home offices, on the Third Friday of the month and has produced a video with Vietnam vet Ron Kovic to promote it.
But we’re not telling you what to do to mark the Iraq Moratorium. That’s not our role. It’s simply to encourage people to do something, individually or collectively, on the Third Friday of the month to end the war and occupation.
Whatever you’re planning, please list it and share your plans with others. Here’s the link.
To see what others are doing, read reports from last month, get some new ideas, read about the peace movement, donate to Iraq Moratorium, buy a T-shirt, or just surf, visit the website/
Jan 16 2009
Today (Friday, Jan. 16) is the day: Iraq Moratorium, a day to interrupt our daily routines and do something, whatever it may be, to call for an end to the war and occupation of Iraq.
Here’s one simple thing you can do that only takes a minute:
With the inauguration of Barack Obama just days away, ask Obama, through his change.gov website, to act at once to begin the process of withdrawing US troops. Tell him how strongly you feel about it.
Here’s another simple, warm, indoor activity, while we in Wisconsin and elsewhere (like the people pictured in Rice Lake WI) endure sub-zero temperatures: Help keep the woefully underfunded Iraq Moratorium alive with a contribution, large or small, one-time or monthly. Just click here to donate. We’ll put it to immediate and effective use in the cause of peace
Whatever you decide to do, please send a report (photos or videos, too, if you have them) by using this brand new, even simpler form.
Folks across the country would like to hear about what you do, even an individual action. You can inspire others to act.
Thanks for whatever you do in the cause of peace.
Jan 14 2009
How many cases of frostbite will it take to end the war and occupation of Iraq?
Iraq Moratorium activists in Wisconsin ponder that, with the weather forecast for Friday, Jan. 16, this month’s Iraq Moratorium day, for subzero temperatures and even worse wind-chill readings. There are warnings about frostbite and hypothermia.
Iraq Moratorium-Wisconsin noted, in an email to organizers:
While standing at a vigil in sub-zero temperatures may be an expression of our commitment, frostbite and hypothermia will not end the war and occupation of Iraq.
This is not to suggest canceling planned events for Friday; our experience in Milwaukee is that it is almost impossible to get the word out to everyone even when a decision is made to cancel. Some people will come anyway.
However, if it is really as cold as the forecast indicates, it might make sense to think about shortening up the vigil and moving indoors after 15-30 minutes to a nearby coffee shop, restaurant or other location. Use the time to discuss the war, plan a February Moratorium event, write a letter, circulate a petition to bring the National Guard home, or take some other action to help get US troops out of Iraq.
Here’s a list of scheduled Wisconsin events on Friday: Iraq Moratorium-Wisconsin.
It may fall on peace-loving people in warmer climes to pick up the slack this week. You’ll find a list of events in your area, ideas for individual action, and more on the national website.
We’re hardy in Wisconsin, but even we have our limits.
UPDATE: They didn’t exactly say it, but methinks the folks in Wyandott, MI think we’re wimpy.
Jan 12 2009
Not Chimera in the first sense – “a fire-breathing she-monster” – ouch – but the second sense: “an impossible or foolish fantasy.” Double-ouch.
Is the dream of an “Obama” more than reality can bear? Is fundamental and decisive change impossible in a rigid State system riddled with both the desperate bureaucratic mind-set which views change as Al Qaeda and the corruption, cronyism and secrecy meant to combat reform at every turn?
Were we fools to buy Obama’s hope of change?
