American Aid

What is worse, the deaths of 150 thousand in mere hours or the life long enslavement of 25 million?   If you live by Patrick Henry's creed the answer is clear; if you consider the savage treatment of Iraqi women and children and  the hundreds of thousands of bodies found in Iraqi mass graves the answer should be obvious to all.

Please don't misunderstand I think the American tradition of being first to response to disasters shows the bountiful character of our nation and should continue.

But, the upcoming election in Iraq speaks well of another great American tradition.  Even though Mr. Jefferson's famous document boldly announced America's independence from all other nations, America has routinely pushed back tyranny and offered life, liberty and the purist of happiness to others all over the world.  

Today, we are supporting  the millions of Iraqi citizens who yearn for those precious inalienable rights.  Sadly, these present day Arab counterparts to the brave Americans who defiantly stood at Lexington and Concord are seldom mentioned by the anti-war media and woefully under appreciated by the "let's just get out of Iraq" crowd.

But, with their vote on Jan. 30, they will honor the sacrifice of their liberators and will take the planet's march toward freedom to the high ground in the Middle East.  From a democratic Iraq opportunities will spread across the region that will  reverse the flow of influence from terror to hope and usher in a stability that will benefit the World.  

Indeed,  their  vote will be "heard around the world" but we Americans should take great comfort in knowing the it will echo the loudest in bin Ladens cave.  I'm sure that millions of  Arabs  Muslins free to determine their destiny through a western style election  was not quite the results he wanted or expected from his attack on America.    

In fact, the fear of  stability and the inherent expansion of  freedom to surrounding states has prompted the recent extreme tactics of the terrorists, but like Hitler's final attempt in the Battle of the Bulge to push the allies in to the sea their attempt to push the Middle East back into darkness of the past will also fail. Sixty years ago the actions of  enormous armies could not extinguish the light of liberty and today the desperate actions of a few will not even begin to dim it.

So, regardless of what some may say, we should all  be proud when we offer the needy and helpless of the world, with our concern  and our compassion, America's gift: Grace.

And, we should feel especially proud when we offer the oppressed and enslaved of the world, with our passion and  our blood, America's promise: Freedom.

Champ

cwebb

Bush's hypocricy

Governmental Accountability

First and foremost the "Bill of Rights" granted by the"People".

1st time ever the "People" granted the rights unto themselves from the beginning of recorded history...
Our "rights" were not given us by a begrudging Monarch,
disparate Despot, or some "holy council".
We conferred them upon ourselves.
Thereby establishing the "People" as the sovereign ,
not their governmental apparatus. Therefore when in the course of time some elected servant of the "People"
deems it necessary to suspend these rights he/she must be held accountable for this Treasonable offense by the Sovereignty vested in the People.

It has come to pass in our time to redress our Government. The apparatus to do so is also controlled by these same minions that being the House of Representatives,
as well as the Senate...so our apparatus has failed us in this instance.

We the People of this Nation must bring our concern and demand for accountability to this calumny that has been perpetrated. Our only peaceful redress is to refuse
to participate and clog the machinery with our demands until the Tyrant and his cadres are forced to resign..We must fill the avenues, the parks, the very streets
of our cities, towns and villages. We need draw no farther back in recent memory than to the good people of the Ukraine...Indeed we owe the world this action as the Sovereign of this the first Democracy to enact itself... we deserve no less....

It is past time to put the lies, and fear mongering, to rest..This outrage must not stand.

There is one other misunderstanding needing clarification. Corporations are not structured as democracies. They are at best benevolent oligarchies. They are not
for this very reason structured to preform governmental obligations and/or activities. Privatization when seen in this understanding is further evidence of treasonable behavior. Our Government is not to be a money making venture. Its budget is meant to be spent for the general welfare of the people paid for annually from taxes collected. Whatever that source may be....1st. come the people and their collective needs,health, education, well-being and protection. Lastly and only if there be a surplus would some assistance be given to commerce. Which by this late date in our capital expansion ought be dealt with by the very corporations themselves not from the Peoples' Treasury.

Wake up Citizens of these United States and take back what is yours...Just say NO..

Iraq

The fact that the issues we have with media are long-standing and have led us to adventures like Iraq, and encouraged the blind faith that some put in the current resident of the White House, makes me give media reform a higher priority for focus.

Iraq is also starting to get attention as the boat anchor it is...and people are starting to talk about cutting the rope and getting the heck out.  When Georgie's little adventure is over and done with, we're still stuck with the same media unless we work for change, and unless we do work for that change, Iran, or North Korea, or Syria could be the next target of pre-emptive conflict.

media reform

the election is what gets the ball rolling...

cherfan

Poll

My best soap box issue is the way we treat our teenage children of low and middle income families.  For you Christians, of which I am one, if you get out your Old Testament you will see that God (with the exception of David) always instructed that "Men 20-years old and above, and who were able to fight, were to be called to fight.  When he instructed a census be taken it was of "men 20-years old and above".  He did not tell them to start recruiting teenagers.  Jesus never instructed people to go to war, he told us we were responsible for all children.

We have always known that people are not adults until 20 or 21.  There have been recent studies on teenagers which indicate that the part of the brain that reasons is not fully developed until later.  

So, here we are, American men and women, recruiting teenagers who have not had a chance to live. Recruiters start hounding them when they are 17.  They approach them at malls, etc.  This is a fact I know for certain.  We call them men and women; but they are not.  It only salves our conscience to call them that.  We sell them a macho image of the military, put them in a Uniform,wave a flag, tell them to be brave heroes and go to some God-forsaken country to protect and keep free all us who are older, richer, younger or have better priorities than to fight a war.
We tell them we will support them when we mean will support the President and his war and we will hold their coats for them.  We stay here, go on with our lives, demand our taxes be reduced, and only protest if someone suggests maybe we and ours be asked to sacrifice in any manner.  

Yes, they are indeed brave, honorable young men and women. I am not selling them short.  My heart cries for these people who entered the military at age 17 and may be sent to battle over and over in the ensuing years.  When do they get to live the good life?.  We teach these undeveloped brains to kill on command, never ask questions, obey all commands.  They have to endure unspeakable conditions.  If they get into trouble for following these commands we court martial them.  We sure can't blame the important people who ordered them to do this. If they are not killed, many of them come home vegetables, blind, maimed, or the toll of the war has left them with lifelong mental problems.  They will have to live the rest of their lives this way.  The rest of us will go on and eventually these people will be forgotten.  

The price of freedom is supposed to be shared by all.  During WWII the saying was "that those who had been given the most blessings have the most responsibility for protecting the freedoms.  This is a paraphrase but the meaning is there.

I am convinced that one day all Americans will be held responsible for the abuse we allow to be heaped on some of our young people, particularly in the enlisted ranks.  We are also responsible for the leaders we elect, so we sure better be educating ourselves and not blindly following these leaders.

Get the money out of politics!

You're concerned about corporate domination of media?  Won't change as long as corporations can make "campaign contributions" in exchange for legislation authorizing media monopolies.  Are you working hard for election reform?  Won't happen until wealthy individuals and PACs can't buy off politicians.  We all have our personal priorities, but if we don't come together on the major, basic problem, we'll never get anywhere!  And I don't know about you, but I prefer not to waste my life working ineffectively.  I prefer focusing my work where it will really make a difference.

There are several "attack fronts" for getting money out of politics.  One is to institute "Clean Elections".  All elections should be publicly and equally financed.  No more campaign contributions - not from PACs, not from corporations, not from wealthy families.  Just imagine it for a moment - all campaigns equally financed.  People might actually be elected on their merits, instead of their sugardaddies.  This is the kind of election reform that will really work.

Another front is to abolish corporate personhood.  The concept that a corporation has the rights and protections of a human being is bizarre, disastrous, and probally illegal.  I just read a book that says the original legal decision in 1886 to grant corporations personhood status, isn't true!  A clerk wrote some kind of preamble that said the judge had granted it, when he actually had NOT, in the actual decision.  Anyways, corporations do NOT deserve the right to freedom of speech (million-dollar advertisements pounding our heads), nor the right to not incriminate themselves (corporate records are supposed to be open to the public), nor the right to vote (mega-million dollar campaign contributions) etc.

Are you seeing the picture?  Marriage rights for same-sex couples, fair and honest media, open critique of the war, none of it will happen until big money does not control government.  Let's stop fighting the wrong battle, let's stop being splintered into isolated issue groups who never get anywhere.  Let's unite to break that corrupt cycle of money-politics-money.  

Common Cause staff, are you hearing me?  Your polls are not rating this issue highest, but it really needs to be our priority!

Leslie

New to blogs/add Social Security to the agenda

 I am new to blogs and blogging (yes-I've been resistent) but not to Common Cause.

 I am more appalled and discouraged by the news every day. I have burnt out a number of family members and friends by forwarding them information and requests from me that they get active.

 Looks like I'll find more like minded company here.    I hope that Common Cause will consider adding exploration of and oppostion to the Bush Administrations proposed reform of the Social Security program.

  Yes, the system has problems but I don't believe they are currently at crisis proportions and so much else is. The president seems prone to creating crises to further his own agenda and he needs to be stopped from over inflating the situation and jumping off the deep end again.

 One other quick observation from my first day of blogging-I didn't like the tone I sensed in an exchange between Christian and non Christian-hope it's not the usual.

 Also I hope no one will feel compelled to correct my spelling for me when my meaning was quite clear.

 Okay then-blog on.

This was posted by LiveCitizen in another spot -- I think this is where it was meant to go. Congrats to LiveCitizen for take the blogging plunge!

Barbara Burt, Common Cause Election Reform Team Leader

Re: Why not Iraq?

Media Reform

Good grief, Charlie Brown!

Several things should be noted by most of the respondents:

1.    A lie is a statement that is not true made by a person who knows it is not true.  It's the second part of the definition that makes a lie such a dastardly thing.  Calling a person a liar is a serious charge.  It implies intent to deceive.  Before you call the president or Ms. Rice a liar, please provide an example.
2.    If you don't believe there is a liberal bias in the main stream media you are either unobservant or blinded by your convections.  We've just been treated to a beautiful example as Condi Rice was verbally hammered by Robert Byrd, among others.  Not a whisper of discord was heard from the main stream media.  Just suppose, for a moment, that the situation was reversed; Rice a democrat and Byrd et all were republicans.  Byrd wagging his KKK finger at Rice would have made the cover of the NY Times, LA Times, Newsweek, and lord knows how many other media outlets, with absolute outrage!  The race warlords would have been apoplectic!
3.    It's unnecessary to swear or call names in a political discussion unless you have nothing else to say.
4.    Sorry, but total war was declared, not by Mr. Bush, but by Islamic terrorists on 9/11.  Furthermore, they have made it abundantly clear that it is either them or us.  And your choice is?
5.    To say the actions of the US in Iraq are imperialistic simply shows you don't know what the word means.
6.    By the way, where does it say that the United States is a democracy?  I'm not sure, but I think Woodrow Wilson was the first prominent leader to make such a statement.  If you read the Federalist Papers, you will see our founding fathers had real fear of mob rule (democracy) and established many safeguards to prevent it!  Through the years, liberal politicians have removed most of them (For example, the 17th and 24th amendments).  And I read that many of you would like to remove the Electoral College, another of the safeguards.

V. Smith

Robert Byrd

The terrorists of 9/11 were not from Iraq.

You also need to read your history again.  

You are just repeating the lies of the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Fox News.  Listen to those guys long enough and your brain turns to mush.

The media is not liberal.  Most of the medis is corporate owned and the news is controlled.  

Liars?

V. Smith

Christianity

To say what is really at issue and better than I can go to www.truthout.org and read Bill Moyers recent article in the Star Tribune.  (Not about the E-Mails; that is my own opinion.)

We may not like it, but we have to address this problem.  

Democrats and the Mainline Religions have to be concerned about this.  It will not go away.