Congress on Iraq and Iran

 In Congress, Iran, Iraq

by Kevin Martin, Executive Director

 Yesterday, Congress showed once again it is tone-deaf to the wishes of the people, with the Senate voting down an amendment to cut off funding for the Iraq war by March 31, 2008 and the House failing to adopt an amendment to send a strong NO WAR ON IRAN message to Bush.  Clearly, much more pressure, in many forms, needs to be brought to bear on Members of Congress who remain timid when they ought to be aggressively promoting peace.

On Iran and Congress,  the current issue of Mother Jones features good analysis by Jonathan Schwarz at http://www.motherjones.com/news/outfront/2007/05/plan_for_iran.html

On Iraq, Win Without War (a coalition of which Peace Action is a founding member) features an interesting interview with Iraqi Parliamentarian Mohammed al-Daini on its Stand Up Congress website at http://www.standupcongress.org/content/index.php

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  • RONALD L. WALDRON
    Reply

    WHO IS ANTI-SEMITIC, WHO IS ANTI-AMERICAN ??

    68% of the people of Jewish Faith residing in America, are opposed to the Lobby (AIPAC) and
    other so called Jewish organizations.
    They do not believe that the actions of Israel are
    justified in any way. Nor do they want such government and organizations associated as
    being a part of their faith.
    Are they really anti-semitic as others are accused.
    Or are they proud to be American, and concerned
    about the dirrection of such foreign policy as lead
    by a lobby and its money trail.

    They see this administration, the Zionist movement
    the same as we do. Anti-american.

  • Gola Wolf Richards
    Reply

    With soldiers caught in wasting combat, each day that President Bush is not impeached, his adminisatan uses red blood to whitewash the truth. And, behind the whitewash, Bush is morally insane, intellectually incompetent, and guilty of the only human terror that has ever stalked the world: ignorance equipped with power. Since Bush and company will never say they are impotent for genuinely moral action, every direct and indirect manner of support he receives from Congress is defunct for anything, other than self-promotion. It is as if our representatives’ mantra is “God forbid that my legislative career should be sacrificed to spare the life of a solider; even if that life is being wasted on a bankrupt mission, borne from deception, sustained by corruption, and upheld by blatantly political and capitalistic expediencies”.

    America’s government is in a state of moral paralysis; and because we are not represented by our representatives, we are no longer a government of the people, but a ship adrift. As Bush infects the world with the same diseased principles that he says he is fighting, he represents a kind of moral-Ebola. Truly, some habits are worse than others: Alcoholics ask for more drinks, junkies ask for more dope, but Bush asked for a surge and got it! Therefore, with compassion: Dear Mr. Bush, if you really love Jesus, stop crucifying the truth. And, Dear Congressmen: Stop making soldiers subservient to statements and votes geared to maintaining your careers over their lives! If for no other reason other than being sane enough to know that it is time to pull the plug on this stupidity, vote like a soldier in Iraq who wants and deserves to come home! Next, stop pretending that you have wisdom for peace, and look for folks that do! With all speed, now more than ever, do anything and everything to bring our children home. Then, hold to the fact that the only way to honor the life of a soldier who deserves to live is to let him. Therefore, with compassion, impeach every zombie of courage that maintains the Bush Adminisatan.

    Sincerely,
    Rev.,Prof., Gola Wolf Richards, http://www.MottoCitizens.com

  • michael
    Reply

    unless we defeat the terrorist we will never have peace. these people hate us and they hate the jews. they are spreading out all over the middle east, s. america, mexico,

    michael mckenna

  • opit
    Reply

    Sorry. Eisenhower warned about the military-industrial complex. So did JFK.
    America went to war over the protests of its citizens : people unaccountably have forgotten that. It’s the arms lobby people.They’ve hijacked the government. That’s why all the secrecy and scare mongering.
    Bush isn’t wise – but stupidity is an act to cover cupidity.

  • opit
    Reply

    BTW Have a look at http://youthinkleft.com/

  • stickynotetheatre
    Reply

    Poor Michael McKenna. He has fallen to the fear pushed before him.

    Terrorism does not exist if people choose not to be terrified by it. If they choose to not let it affect them. If they choose to turn the other cheek (as, ironicly, the President’s supposed savior Christ taught) and continue to live their lives in peace with love in their hearts for everyone, even their enemies. If they choose prevention and education on the home front and not retaliation and revenge on the war front.

    Terrorism only exists when it provokes its target into action. When it disrupts the lives of its targets. When it causes fear, confusion, anger, and despair.

    Don’t continue to support terrorism by supporting those who use it for their own purposes.

  • michael mckenna
    Reply

    you must be living under a rock. the head of iran said publicly that he was going to destroy israel and america. you had better hope that one of the missles does’t hit your house.

    the patriot

  • opit
    Reply

    So. Is he going to throw rocks ?

  • RONALD L. WALDRON
    Reply

    URGENT: PARTICIPATE FOR A THIRD POLITICAL PARTY, NOW !!

    “Amidst all this violence and bloodshed” in Iraq, “is the sacrifice worth it?
    Republican and Democrat congress alike know and could care less that the sacrifice is being borne overwhelmingly by lower-income whites, Hispanics and African-Americans who comprise the bulk of the casualties? Nor do they address 655,000
    civilian Iraq’s killed in this corrupt war.

    To understate the case, neither the Democratic Party nor Republican Party seem to be serving the people of the United States as well as they could. This, too, might be a blessing because maybe it is now time for a legitimate centrist third party to be formed to take back our government from polarized politics, special interests, corrupt lobbyists and some of the worst elements of American society.

    Don’t forget the lesson of Jesse Ventura’s election as governor in Minnesota. Many people there did not want the Republican and Democrat professional politicians that also ran, with their traditional positions, backers and fund-raising machines.Are we sick of the corruption, lobbyist,
    foreign influence, organized crime, religious Leaders agenda in government affairs.(Most are )

    It is now time for a third party because both existing major parties seem to be run by people with their own rigid and sometimes extreme agendas and values. Agendas and values that do not necessarily represent the views of mainstream Americans. A polarization seems to have taken place on many issues. Two polarized views on many social, moral, psychological and spiritual levels split the discussion and rob the centrist middle ground, where most Americans stand..

    We can point to many officeholders, career politicians and people behind the scenes and see that there is a dark side to both major parties. There seems to be financial corruption, political corruption, even moral and spiritual corruption in both parties.

    Each day it is more apparent that another political party is needed for the 2008 presidential and congressional elections. Neither the Democrats nor the Republicans have done anything to eliminate “Government for Sale” lobbying and the PAC system. America has been sold out, look at the
    recent bills on the WAR and IMMIGRATION.

    No mention is made by either party of the $9 trillion national debt which consumes more and more tax dollars in interest every year, even if we succeeded in having a balanced budget. The gap in income is becoming wider between the “corporate elite” and the vast majority of working men and women. Good jobs are being lost daily. The Wall Street Journal reports a new corporate layoff in almost every issue. It seems like government has been “outsourced” to a foreign lobby (AIPAC).

    Free trade is a joke and has resulted in the loss of thousands of jobs. Taxpayer money is used to compensate for bad loans by global bankers to corrupt foreign governments.

    Neither party is capable of dealing with these problems, nor do they care to. The time has come for another party dedicated to government by and for the people. We may not have another chance.

    The larger specialty groups like Veterans Organizations, Seniors Organizations, etc. that are treated like meat to be processed through the grinder, before and after their usefulness was done, need to remember that the reason they fought/worked was to save the rights and liberties of The People of America and their children. Instead, they dig for scraps of which they fought, from the tables of lying tyrants eating our peoples rightly deserved sustenance. There will not be rights for individuals, groups or segments until there are rights for all.

    What Are You Waiting On? America needs you now. The Constitution needs you now. Our rights and liberties as free men, women and children of God/nature and evolution need you now.

    Even a two party Constitutionally compatible unity would make news overseas, our only source of real news for the most part. Let me say “in the view from New Orleans” one wonders if there is going to be a 2008 election, even a corrupt one, let alone a verified true election process. The 3rd parties and affiliates need to unite now. Or, they and we will be damned to tyranny.

    The sad reality, it has already occured, the 2000, and 2004 presidential elections were just that, we have been damned to tyranny for the last seven years. This country’s righteous heritage is lost to all.

    The only “deal breaker” issues should be those that infringe upon our rights and liberties as granted by the “historical background” interpretation of the Constitution which includes our rights inherent as free men, women and children.

    The Constitution was the most empowering document the founders could muster in their best effort from the best minds of the time, perhaps in all time, regarding liberty and government. It has been called, generation upon generation throughout the world, the gold standard of rights and freedom for the people and their protection from the government. Yet, our current government of neo-cons, media and even some individuals call it outdated, irrelevant to current times, “a living constitution”, and various other false interpretations and claims, and now swear their oaths of office to this bastardized constitution.

    There is only one true interpretation of the Constitution, the historical background interpretation. The founders also made sure to leave hundreds upon hundreds of quotes and documents that readily show the intent of the text.

    WHO ?? I THINK AL GORE AND RALPH NADER SHOULD LEAD A THIRD PARTY. THE GREEN PARTY.

    A CONTRACT WITH THE “AMERICAN” PEOPLE ON ALL ISSUES, SIGNED AND SEALED.

  • michael mckenna
    Reply

    I agree we need a third party,but not with gore. nader is ok. ithink lieberman would make a good candidate also mccain. We need to stop the lobbing in washington big business ownes the politicans. we should make sure that the people get to vote on all changes in the law ,federal and state. the state of massachuttes for example not being able to vote on the gay marriage issue. this is a disgrace.

    michael mckenna the patriot

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