Cindy has some stern words for Ms. Pelosi

Aug 26, 2008 5:24 PM

The "Experience of Being Wrong"

Cindy Sheehan


I did not watch Ms. Pelosi's speech at the DNC. I was actually giving a speech of my own in another part of Denver, but I have read the transcript of Ms. Pelosi's remarks and I have also read the criticisms of this speech on all of the Democratic blogs. Ms. Pelosi did not get high marks, to say the least. I have read some things I cannot repeat, but criticisms of "wooden," "boring," "uninspired," and "hypocritical," are some comments coming from committed and rabid Democrats. It does seem pretty hypocritical when such a public failure can claim that McCain has the "experience of being wrong.
"

With Congress at a 9% approval rating, it is amazing to me that Ms. Pelosi can stand in front of anyone and claim "success" and claim that her leadership has taken this nation on a better path. Our economy is crashing; hundreds of thousands of people have lost their homes despite the $300.00 "stimulus" check Ms. Pelosi sent them. Some Americans are being forced to choose whether to buy gas or food, despite the miniscule hike in the federal minimum wage, which affected a very small percentage of the population since most states already had minimum wages that exceeded the federal minimum wage. A true progressive "change" in that direction would be mandating a living wage, which differs from state/state and city/city; but based on the cost of living. It's easier to push people of color or poor people out of cities like San Francisco by increasing the cost of living, while not mandating a living wage.


Some other of Ms.
Pelosi's "accomplishments" that she touted in her speech were:

Keeping toxic toys out of the hands of children.


(The toys that were put into our children's hands by the "free" trade agreements she supports and the outsourcing of jobs that pay slave wages to countries that make our consumer goods and encourage cutting back costs so we can go to Wal-mart and get "low, low" prices).


We passed legislation to keep hard working American families in their homes

(According to Reality Trak, 1 out of every 194 homes received foreclosure notices in the first quarter of this year and Congress was more interested in bailing out Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and predatory lenders than keeping "American Families" in their homes.
)

And, we enacted a new G.I. Bill to thank our veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan by sending them to college.


(Ms. Pelosi did not mention in her speech that her congress has funded the war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan to the tune of over 400 billion dollars and since she became Speaker, over 1200 of our troops have been killed unnecessarily and hundreds of Iraqis/Afghans have been murdered or displaced from their homes. Ms. Pelosi should not be "thanking" our veterans, she should be apologizing to them for continuing to send them off to fight a war that has physically, mentally, or emotionally wounded tens of thousands of them for no reason at all).


Ms. Pelosi even said that Iraq was: "a catastrophic mistake that has cost thousands of lives of our men and women in uniform and trillions of dollars, as well as has weakened our standing in the world and our capability to protect the American people, Barack Obama is right and John McCain is wrong. Very, very wrong." Well, if John McCain has been wrong and the occupation of Iraq (she says nothing about Afghanistan, and, in fact, she supports the Obama plan of redeploying troops from Iraq to Afghanistan to fight the "real war on terror"), then Nancy Pelosi has also been "very, very wrong." One doesn't pour funds to the tune of "trillions" of dollars into a "catastrophic mistake.
"

Borrowing the rhetoric of the right, Ms. Pelosi wants to honor our troops that have made America the "Land of the free and the home of the brave." Collaborating with the Bush regime to foist upon us a "Prevention of violent radicalism and homegrown terrorism law" and working with the City of Denver and the State of Colorado and Homeland "Security" to turn Denver into a fascist police state, would have made a person of conscience choke on those words. I certainly know that my son did not join the US Military and die in a "catastrophic mistake" to turn this nation into one that is looking more like a bi-partisan repressive despotic dictatorship every day. I have a radical idea for Ms. Pelosi! How about she honors our troops by obeying her sworn oath to "uphold and defend the constitution from all enemies foreign and domestic," the same oath our troops take.


Ms. Pelosi is famous for taking our constitution "off the table" and will go down in infamy as the Vichy-enabler of the Bush regime and along with her beloved "party" will be known as the party that killed the 4th amendment to the Bill of Rights (with her support of warrantless spying on Americans and immunity from the felonious breaking of the FISA laws) and the 8th amendment as the sanctioners of torture.


During her speech, Ms. Pelosi is giving evidence that her leadership will also further dissolve the separation between church and state that has accelerated during the Bush "catastrophic mistake" of a Presidency. She assured the convention goers and lapdog media that the Democratic path is one to the Christian heaven: "It is the path that renews our democracy by bringing us together as one nation under God." Whose god? Bush's god? Obama's god? Pelosi's god? Osama's god? Olmert's god? The god of the "two" party system: mammon? The very words, "God," or "religion" do not belong anywhere near public political discourse. Obviously, not everyone worships the same god, or any god, or gods. We must end the rhetoric of "holy wars" and remember that we do not elect a Pope of America, but a President. I also have another question...how is democracy "renewed" by forcing us together as a "nation under God?" This was not only an un-American thing to say, but the rhetoric is as empty as the treasury of the USA.


The "successes" of Pelosi's leadership look an awful lot like failures when we know that she mostly capitulated to the Bush regime and when her failures have been so catastrophically tragic.


In September, Ms. Pelosi, will have a few weeks left of her leadership position when she will go back to lead a congress that has that abysmal approval rating and has passed the least amount of legislation in the last 20 years. Congress will take up business for about three weeks in September and a good start will be to arrest Karl Rove on the first day for ignoring a congressional subpoena. On day two, begin to roll back the executive branch excesses of the last eight years and reclaim the separation of powers that were ensured by the founders before the next president takes over and takes the scepter of an empire and not the mantle of public service as only the "first of equals.
"

There's nothing more important for her to do.

Bring Back '68, read the signs...

Here's some delightful footage of what appears to be a patriotic display of police-public community appreciaton. I believe tha aim here was to make sure a peaceful protest turned ugly. But then, I wasn't there. These folks were. Notice every other person in the crowd has a camera. Some things change for the better...

This is from American News Project, via Flyingcockflyer, via Cindy Sheehan (who, on her very first day there, interrupted a nice young man in the midst of bugging her phone.)

Bringing it home

from a Cindy Sheehan email of November 15, 2007:

"Our national identity rests on and has been formed by violence and greed. Congress has a chance to slow down, if not reverse, that cycle but will give George Bush billions more to wage their (the mess belongs to all the branches co-equally) illegal occupation because, instead of protecting life and liberty for all, they viciously protect the life and liberty of their elitist club only."

My email reply:

Cindy-

I just had a thought that seemed so clear - probably like some you've had many times.

Imagine if, instead of a bill to provide more money to continue killing nameless and faceless Iraqis, Congress was pondering a bill to permit US forces to capture, torture, and possibly kill Nancy Pelosi's children (doubtless for some imaginary national security reason.) Or substitute the children of any lawmaker you choose.

Imagine the somewhat different tactics that would be "on the table" to kill that bill.

I'd think there would be a total shutdown of the government before such a bill was allowed to go into effect. Lawmakers would be calling press conferences every hour to denounce this travesty. They'd call on all their resources, call in all their favors from powerful business and government leaders, blanket the media with outrage and demands for a return to rational, civil behavior.

In short, they'd stop "business as usual" and shift into drastic crisis mode, and not stop until the inhuman threat was gone.

And yet, how is this materially different from the situation they face now?

Kinda makes ya think.

-steve

Three reasons Congress is wrongheaded in Iraq

This is from an email from Cindy Sheehan, commenting on an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal in which Karl Rove complains about how Congress is threatening to screw up Iraq and the Middle East by trying to end the War in Iraq. Cindy agrees they're screwing up, but for failing to end the War...

There are at least three errors with the Congressional “New Direction in Iraq.” First of all the timelines are again “non-binding” and not worth the breath it takes to talk about them, or the ink and paper that it takes to write them (or the headache one gets to think about them). With 2007 being the deadliest year for our US troops and the people of Iraq (did anyone not see---except Bush and Congress that a “surge” which Karl says is working in his laughable op-ed---would not increase the bloodshed?) and the violence predictably picking up after the holy month of Ramadan, by the end of 2008, we should tragically witness the deaths of hundreds of more US troops and thousands of more Iraqis, with even more fleeing their homes to take an inhumane refugee status.

The second thing wrong with a short-term handover is that any amount of money for a war that is wrong, is also wrong. Using the drug addiction illustration again, if one of my children asked me for money to buy crack, but I told them abusing crack is wrong, but “I will give you more money to abuse crack: but only until March! By March, you must have your crack addiction under control because I won’t give you one more penny to abuse crack!” My child would take the money with relief to continue his/her habit knowing that by March (from my past performance of always- buckling under to his/her pressure) I would give him/her more money, anyway. Then between now and March, I could not once tell my child that abusing crack is “harmful/illegal” because I have given my “implied consent” by funding his/her habit. Congress is reaffirming the implied consent theory of war continually by feeding George’s habit for chaos and killing.

The third reason the offer of partial blood money to George is a mistake is that the Constitution divides powers between the branches. Congress (read—Democratic Leadership) has forgotten that the institution is a co-equal branch with the Executive and Judicial. I studied the Constitution in Civic class for my entire eighth grade year and it has only been amended twice since then, once granting suffrage to 18 year olds in 1971 after they had been dying for years in Vietnam (27th Amendment) Incidentally, with the Every Child Left Behind Act, our children, today, learn very little, if anything about civics, history, or critical thinking---that’s education in a fascist state, my friend. Anyhow, in eighth grade I learned that Congress has the power and duty to declare war and pay for war and the Executive has the duty to wage the war. In Congress’ New Direction, the bill has elements that “redefine” the mission in Iraq. I agree that the mission needs to be radically redefined to no mission at all. However, the president, who is clearly irresponsible, to say the very least, is well within his Constitutional right to veto any bill like this and within his Constitutional powers to wage the war as he sees fit. Have I said lately, that he isn’t fit, at all?

The only power that Congress has to end this war (and effectively and affectively redefining the mission), to the chagrin of Karl who is clearly out of step with reality and the country, is to not give George Bush one more penny of China’s money, let alone 50 billion more of Chinese dollars.

Cindy ponders where to go from here

October 27, 2007, San Francisco march of about 30,000 protesters

Oct 28, 2007 10:27 AM
Subject:	The Morning After by Cindy Sheehan
	As I sit sipping my morning cup of coffee and reflect on the anti-war protests sponsored by the Oct27 coalition (where I saw some good collaboration between UFPJ and ANSWER---at least in San Francisco ---yea!), I have a few thoughts. Yesterday, tens of thousands of activists from around Northern California, Northern Nevada and some from Southern Oregon attended the rally in my new hometown, San Francisco . Despite weather in the Eastern part of the country, I hear that the rallies all over the rest of the country were extremely well attended and the energy was high. The throngs of humanity in San Francisco stretched out between the Civic Center to Dolores Park in a line that was over two miles long and it took over an hour for the last marcher to reach the endpoint. However, what does this all mean? We have marched. We have done sit-ins in Congress Reps offices all over the country. We have written letters, emails and sent faxes. Some of us have camped in ditches in Central Texas for weeks at a time. CODEPINK is doing a marvelous job of keeping the pressure on in DC. We have had countless numbers of rallies, teach-ins and candlelight vigils, but the occupation is continuing and people are still dying and are forced from their homes by the ongoing and unremitting violence. In November of 2006, the peace movement scored a major coup but we later discovered that the Democrats had only used our vibrant, angry and deeply committed movement to regain both Houses of Congress. Some of us erroneously thought that we could relax a little and allow the 110th Congress to take some of the slack from us hard-working activists to end the war and hold BushCo accountable. After all, that’s what we pay them for, isn’t it? I, and my organization, was roundly criticized by many people for going to Congress in January to demand that the Dems do the job we elected them to do. “Give them a chance.” “Shut the f**k up.” These and harsher epithets were hurled at us. I understand, because we wanted to relax, too. In November, we were as shocked as everyone else was, though, when Nancy and Harry (Bush Enablers Number One and Two) took impeachment “off the table.” We knew there would be no rest for the weary with this Congress, and, unfortunately, I think we have been vindicated…very regrettably for democracy around the world. Where do we go from here? George has asked Congress for 45 billion (to add to the 200 billion Congress already handed him) more Chinese lent dollars for 2008 to sustain his bloody occupations and Congress will unconditionally yield to his request because they are puppets of the Supreme Puppet. Coincidentally, this will keep the bloody mess going until the ’08 elections where the Dems can point their blood-stained fingers at the Repugs not even realizing that we are not buying that load of crap anymore. Both parties are culpable; both parties are supporting war crimes; both parties must be held accountable. We need to run Peace Candidates against the Bush Enablers and we need to support the Peace Candidates we already have like Dennis Kucinich that are floundering on the decks of the USS Main Stream Media. The peace movement must also be held accountable. We wrangle for a limited amount of funds and guard our “listservs” jealously and fiercely. It is way past time that the peace movement share resources, gifts and talents to force the established elite in DC to do our will. We are the moral majority in this country; we are in the right; we need to work together to funnel and focus our energies. So many times we are on parallel paths going the same direction but rarely walking together towards our common goals. We can be sure that the Corporatocracy is walking lock-step toward their goal of US global hegemony which is neither peaceful nor benevolent. In March of ’08 we will be mourning the 5th anniversary of a “war” that was going to take six months (Donald Rumsfeld), 50 billion dollars (Paul Wolfowitz) and zero American lives (George Bush). Obviously, this is unacceptable. The Camp Casey Peace Institute is calling for a Peace Summit in San Francisco on the weekend of Martin Luther King, Jr’s birthday to bring the leaders of the movement together so we can find ways to support each other to our common goals of peace, sustainability and accountability and to plan for relevant and effective actions all around the 5th anniversary. With US aircraft carrier groups in the Persian Gulf and Turkish forces poised on the border of Kurdistan , if there ever was a time to put differences aside and celebrate similarities, as BushCo in tandem with Congress, Inc has brought our world to the brink of World War III, it is now. Cindy@CindyforCongress.org

Cindy's voting guide

excerpt from a Cindy Sheehan email Sept.27, 2007— "Pro-Democracy means Anti-Fascism":

Only vote for candidates that promise the following things…for president, or any other federal elective offices:

* Repeal the Patriot Act
* Repeal No Child Left Behind
* Scale down the Department of Homeland Security and rename it so it loses its Nazi
tone and is brought under civilian control.
* Restore habeas corpus and close all torture camps by repealing the Military Commissions’ Act.
* Repeal all contracts with paid mercenary killer companies.
* Restore the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878.
* Repeal all BushCo-Presidential directives (especially Directive 51) and review all laws that contain signing statements.
* Restore the 4th Amendment by enforcing warrants for spying on Americans.
* Impeach Bush and Cheney-post presidency so they can’t receive federal benefits.
* Bring all troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan and review military needs for other bases around the world.
* Repeal all free trade agreements.
* Kick AIPAC and other lobbyists out of the halls of Congress where they have no business.

"Petty and Cruel Dictator”

Cindy Sheehan, September 24, 2007, 2:26 PM:

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the president of Iran spoke at Columbia University today. I heard that he was invited there because the President of Columbia wanted to foster a “free exchange of ideas.” Even though I am not an Ahmadinejad supporter, I know he was elected in Iran in a knee-jerk and understandable response to the USA’s bloodily unnecessary invasion of Iraq, as many reactionery governments have been elected in that region and all over the world in response to the spreading US corporate and military empire.

Citing such human rights’ violations in the form of imprisonment and executions, the President of Columbia University, very boorishly said that Ahmadinejad appeared to be a “petty and cruel dictator.” First of all, how does one invite someone to your place for a “free exchange of ideas,” and be such a rude American? Did he only invite Ahmadinejad so he could publicly scold him or to become the darling of Fox News?

Secondly, what about our President who appears to be a “petty and cruel dictator?” George Bush presided over a stunning amount of executions when he was Governor of Texas and the US is operating torture prison camps, openly and secretly, all over the world. BushCo has fought the Supreme Court and Congress for the right to hold thousands of humans without their human rights of due process and they have also been strenuously committed to the strategy of torture---or “enhanced interrogation methods” as the Ministry of Truth likes to call it. A Reverend gets beaten down in the halls of Congress; nooses are being hung in the south; students are being tased on campuses and Congress is censuring Freedom of Speech…how much evidence do we need before we decide that something is profoundly wrong in present-day America?

In 2006, China, the leading practitioner of state sanctioned murder in the form of execution, killed 8000 people in this manner. However, the Premier of China is welcomed to the US by George Bush who is probably envious of President Hu Jintao's record. We borrow vast sums from China to wage our wars and China is our major trading partner. Wal-Mart’s cheap and dangerous crap is manufactured by near slaves there, but somehow that is okay? Somehow it is okay to welcome Communist China with open arms, but demonize and disparage a Socialist like Hugo Chavez of Venezuela? America has a very lucrative prison business and is the only country in the Americas that practices execution. A barbarian is a barbarian no matter what color, religion or nationality they are.

George Bush has added signing statements to almost 1000 bills that he has signed into law saying that he doesn’t have to obey those very same laws. We have the Nazi-ist sounding Department of Homeland Security which seems to be obsessed with keeping my un-zip-locked baggied lip-gloss off of flights. The un-Patriot Act and breaking of FISA laws and our 4th Amendment right to be secure against unreasonable search and seizure have turned the “Land of the Free” into the “Home of the Slaves.”

To put the cherry on the sundae of the crimes that BushCo have committed, they have sent hundreds of thousands of our own sons and daughters to occupy a country that was no threat to America or its neighbors. Thousands of Americans are dead, wounded or mentally screwed up and millions of Iraqis are dead, wounded, mentally screwed up or displaced from their homes.

Another boorish American, Scott Pelley (of 60 Minutes) hammered Ahmadinejad about sending weapons into Iraq without even once acknowledging the immoral tons of weapons that we rained on the citizens of Iraq during “shocking and awful;” the cluster bombs that look like toys that litter the killing fields of that country and have killed and maimed so many children; the mercenary killers that outnumber our troops and use the people of Iraq for target practice; the thousands of tons of weapons that the US let out of such weapons dumps as al-Qaqaa that were left unguarded while the oil ministry was heavily fortified. Not to mention that America supported Iraq in its eight year long war with Iran that killed an unbelievable amount of people on both sides of the border. The hypocrisy of our system is spectacular and deadly in both ignorance and arrogance.

We here in America are living in a fascist state that regularly puts corporate profits and an insatiable and evil thirst for power above people and their needs. Our supercilious leaders and media are so busy calling the kettle black, they don’t notice or care how dark our pot is. We are supporting Israel in their human rights violations against Palestine, illegally occupying two countries on our own and we have the nerve to claim any kind of moral superiority over anybody?

The fascist, near dictatorship of the Bush regime (a la Nazi Germany) has even intimidated universities to align with their hypocritical murderous rhetoric. Universities should feel free to invite anyone to speak to open much needed dialogue in our country and in the world. And if a person is invited, they should be treated by the person who invited them with a slight modicum of courtesy and then let the rocking and rolling begin with the “Q & A”…which would truly be a free exchange of ideas. I am surprised President Bollinger didn’t have President Ahmadinejad tased.

Peace is going to take all the nations working in cooperation to limit naked aggression and human rights’ violations, not just the ones which the US declare as evil. How many nukes do we have? How many does Pakistan have? How many does India, Israel, North Korea, and the former Soviet Union have? Should the rhetoric be about destroying all weapons of mass destruction and not just prohibiting Iran from obtaining one?

Many countries are committing human rights' violations and sending arms and troops into many parts of the world. America's biggest export is violence and we would do well to call for an end to all occupations and violence by beginning to end our own.

Let’s clean our own filthy house before we criticize someone else for theirs.

As is so often the case with Cindy, I find myself agreeing completely.