Anti-War Candidates

      A hat tip to Pimperdur at Political Hardball.com for information on this.   This is exactly what this country needs to know before more warmongers are sent to Washington D.C.   I encourage you to call, email or fax your reps and candidates to find out exactly where they stand.   Be sure to include the link to the page that lists all those who have responded so far.   There are even some Republicans on the "Peace" list.     - fc

Anti-War Candidates

Where do YOUR candidates stand on the Bush Administration's "War on Terror"?

The purpose of this site is to show clearly to voters where their candidates stand on the Bush Administration's "War on Terror." Our goal is to ensure that the issue is not sidelined again in upcoming elections.

Candidates can classify themselves into one of three unequivocal categories:

ANTI-WAR CANDIDATE: Candidates who do not support the "War on Terror"

PRO-WAR CANDIDATE: Candidates who support the "War on Terror"

YELLOW DUCK: Candidates who "duck" the issue by either repeatedly failing to respond to inquiries, by stating their positions in equivocal terms, or by flip-flopping.

Candidates and Voters can participate in this project here.

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Tags :: Politics · Election 2006 · Congress · Anti War · Peace Movement

Impeach For Peace

      A hat tip to Citizen Agianst Lies for information on this procedure for Do It Yourself Impeachment of the President of the United States of America.   It seems we are indebted once again to Thomas Jefferson.   Of course this is all a moot point with a rubber stamp republican congress.   If things change in november and the congress returns to a majority in favor of the Dems, then anything is possible.   - fc

Impeach For Peace

Do-It-Yourself Impeachment...

Impeach for Peace, a Minnesota-based impeachment group, has researched a method for impeaching the president using a little known and rarely used part of the Rules of the House of Representatives ("Jefferson’s Manual"). This document actually empowers individual citizens to initiate the impeachment process themselves.

"Jefferson's Manual" is an interpretive guide to parliamentary procedure, and is included (along with the Constitution) in the bound volumes of the Rules of the House of Representatives. The section covering impeachment lists the acceptable vehicles for bringing impeachment motions to the floor of the House.

Before the House Judiciary Committee can put together the Articles of Impeachment, someone must initiate the impeachment procedure. Most often, this occurs when members of the House pass a resolution. Another method outlined in the manual, however, is for individual citizens to submit a memorial for impeachment.

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Tags :: Politics · Bush · Impeach

End the War in Iraq Act

      A resolution to the problem in Iraq is going to be solved one way and one way only if it is to be done before George W. Bush is out of office.   Something similar to this is what finally stopped the needless killing in Vietnam.   Something like this is what it will take for the killing to stop in Iraq.

When they realise that we are out of their country, they will not be so easily induced to kill their fellow muslim.   They can only expect what would come of any country torn in two pieces with the majority aligned with Iran.   The kurds have their own problems with Turkey.   The Sunni's are between a rock and a hard place.

The only sensible thing for us to do is get our people out of there.   The sooner, the better for all concerned.   - fc

PROGRESSIVE
DEMOCRATS
OF AMERICA

Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) has introduced H.R. 4232, the "End the War in Iraq Act of 2005". I implore you to co-sponsor it.

The bill would allow Defense Dept. funds to be used only to provide for:

1) the safe and orderly withdrawal of all troops;
2) consultations with other governments, NATO and the UN regarding international forces;
3) financial assistance and equipment to either Iraqi security forces and/or international forces.

In addition, the bill would not prohibit or restrict non-defense funding to carry out reconstruction in Iraq.

It is time for Congress to embrace its responsibilty and put an end to this madness. To date there are 2600 dead U.S. troops, over 19,000 U.S. injured, over $300 billion in war costs, escalating acts of worldwide terrorism, an impending civil war in Iraq, and an emboldened Iran. It is clear that there exists no path to victory.

Since President Bush is refusing to take steps to end the quagmire in Iraq, Congress must. I want my Representative to be part of the solution by co-sponsoring the McGovern resolution, H.R. 4232.

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Text of Bill   •   Latest Amendments from Thomas

Sponsor/Cosponsor(s) 18:
Conyers, John (D-MI 14th) Fattah, Chaka (D-PA 2nd) Frank, Barney (D-MA 4th) Grijalva, Raul (D-AZ 7th) Kilpatrick, Carolyn (D-MI 13th) Kucinich, Dennis (D-OH 10th) Lee, Barbara (D-CA 9th) Lewis, John (D-GA 5th) McDermott, Jim (D-WA 7th) McGovern, James (D-MA 3rd) Payne, Donald (D-NJ 10th) Schakowsky, Janice (D-IL 9th) Serrano, Jose (D-NY 16th) Stark, Fortney (D-CA 13th) Towns, Edolphus (D-NY 10th) Velazquez, Nydia (D-NY 12th) Waters, Maxine (D-CA 35th) Woolsey, Lynn (D-CA 6th)

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 •  Tags:   Politics · Bush · Iraq

Depleted Uranium

      I have posted on this subject a couple of times on fatcat politics.   This issue is of such prime concern for the troops and the civilians that have been exposed to Depleted Uranium, the use of such similar weapons being a war crime.

This ostrich tactic of trying to ignore this problem has been the attitude of several administrations, not only for Bush amd Cheney.   It is an outrage that weapons like this are used so hazardously.   More attention to it should be a priority.

This issue has been smouldering on the public radar since the first Gulf War I.   Now we are seeing people from 'Iraqi Freedom' suffering along with the thousands from the first war.   - fc

U.S. Soldiers Are Sick of It
 10:20 AM Aug, 12, 2006

NEW YORK -- It takes at least 10 minutes and a large glass of orange juice to wash down all the pills -- morphine, methadone, a muscle relaxant, an antidepressant, a stool softener. Viagra for sexual dysfunction. Valium for his nerves.

Four hours later, Herbert Reed will swallow another 15 mg of morphine to cut the pain clenching every part of his body. He will do it twice more before the day is done.

Since he left a bombed-out train depot in Iraq, his gums bleed. There is more blood in his urine, and still more in his stool. Bright light hurts his eyes. A tumor has been removed from his thyroid. Rashes erupt everywhere, itching so badly they seem to live inside his skin. Migraines cleave his skull. His joints ache, grating like door hinges in need of oil.

Reed believes depleted uranium has contaminated him and his life. He now walks point in a vitriolic war over the Pentagon's arsenal of it -- thousands of shells and hundreds of tanks coated with the metal that is radioactive, chemically toxic, and nearly twice as dense as lead.

Depleted uranium is the garbage left from producing enriched uranium for nuclear weapons and energy plants. It is 60 percent as radioactive as natural uranium. The United States has an estimated 1.5 billion pounds of it, sitting in hazardous waste storage sites across the country. Meaning it is plentiful and cheap as well as highly effective.

"We all had migraines. We all felt sick," Reed says. "The doctors said, 'It's all in your head.' "

Then the medic from their unit showed up. He too, was suffering. That made eight sick soldiers from the 442nd Military Police, an Army National Guard unit made up of mostly cops and correctional officers from the New York area.

But the medic knew something the others didn't. Dutch marines had taken over the abandoned train depot dubbed Camp Smitty, which was surrounded by tank skeletons, unexploded ordnance and shell casings. They'd brought radiation-detection devices. The readings were so hot, the Dutch set up camp in the middle of the desert rather than live in the station ruins.

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Depleted Uranium Information
Military Toxics Project Nat Gulf War Resource Center Am Gulf War Vets Assoc : D.U. Uranium Medical Research Centre - ca umrc afghan trip 2	Nuclear Information and Resource Service Radiation and Public Health Project nuclear press Breathing Uranium Oxides: Global Medical Crisis of Depleted Uranium
Federation of American Scientists - Topic : D.U. Did the US use tactical nuclear weapons in Afghanistan? Breathing Uranium Oxides: Global Medical Crisis of Depleted Uranium The quantitative analysis of depleted uranium isotopes in British, Canadian, and U.S. Gulf War veterans. Environmental risks associated with u.s. army use of du and ways to reduce their long-term effects.
Depleted Uranium	"Poison Fire, USA" - Russell Hoffman
Depleted uranium: - Moret	world depleted uranium conference"
American Free Press - C. Bollyn	traprock peace - DU Links
Criminal World - axis of logic	3 questions about DU - TrapRock Peace
D.U. Education Project	Gulf War Illness Office - D.U
D.U. Fed of Am Scientists	Gulf War Illness Office
D.U. - BBC - uk	D.U. - The Silver Bullet
D.U. - Sunday Herald	D.U. - The World Health Org
BetterWorldLinks - D.U.	Traprock Misleads Public
Safety and D.U.	Am Nuclear Scociety Links

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 •  Tags:   Politics · Bush · Iraq · Depleted Uranium · War Crimes

Lebanon, 1 – Israel, 0

      I have been reluctant to post anything on the new cease fire in Lebanon.   For one thing it is only a few hours after it went into effect this morning.   The main concern is that neither side has had a good history of following U.N. resolutions.   For the sake of the innocents on both sides, we can always hope...   - fc

Israel, Defeated
Round one: Lebanon, 1 – Israel, 0

Take a look at Resolution 1701: it is quite a lengthy document, which goes well beyond the call for a cease-fire and lays the groundwork for a comprehensive solution to the current crisis in the Middle East – one in which Israel gains not an inch. If implemented – and that, of course, is the key – it endorses the seven-point program of the Lebanese government, first put forward at the international conference of July 26. This means a mutual exchange of prisoners – not only the two Israeli soldiers, but the many Lebanese still being held by the Israelis – and the return of the disputed Shebaa Farms enclave to Lebanon. Resolution 1701 also harkens back to the 1989 Taif Agreement, brokered by the Arab League, that put the West's imprimatur on the Syrian "occupation," ending the Lebanese civil war.

Remember, Hezbollah is not some foreign force, or even an Iranian "proxy," as the Israelis (and George W. Bush) aver: it is a Lebanese institution, by far the best organized political force in the country – and one that now has the overwhelming support of the populace. The Israelis have not only lost militarily – in the sense that Hezbollah fought the IDF to a draw – they have also lost politically, within Lebanon, where they have alienated their former allies by bombing Christian neighborhoods.

The invasion also dealt a blow to the Israel lobby's efforts to retain control of American policy in the Middle East at a time when that stranglehold is being challenged as never before. Though subjected to a sharp attack by neoconservative guru Richard Perle for suggesting negotiations with Tehran over the Iranian nuclear program, the American secretary of state now looms all the larger in the Washington firmament, after having successfully chaperoned 1701 to its debut.

That means the neocons are still bleeding and reeling from the wounds inflicted on their power and prestige by the near-meltdown of the American occupation in Iraq. The balance of power in Washington is shifting, as the reality of what professors John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt call "the Lobby" reveals itself.

Who are you going to believe, the Lobby asked, us or your lying eyes? As propagandists, not even the Soviets were this bad.

As usual, Seymour Hersh has the inside dope, and he depicts Israel's failed blitz as a dress rehearsal for the main event: an American confrontation with Iran.

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 •  Tags:   Politics · Bush · Israel · Lebanon · Cease Fire

Peace Voter 2006

      Peace Action's Peace Voter Pledge is a part of the Voters for Peace Pledge Coalition. Peace Action is working in partnership with more than two dozen organizations to build a national bloc of peace voters that politicians cannot afford to ignore. Take the pledge!

As the war becomes more deadly, costly and counter-productive each day, a growing majority of citizens want to see a change of course in Iraq and U.S. foreign policies that better reflect American values.

With mid-term elections approaching, Peace Action's Peace Voter 2006 campaign will bring the occupation of Iraq and other key foreign policy issues to the forefront of the electoral debate.

We will put our elected officials on record on critical peace and security issues and demand their commitment to a more responsible foreign policy for our country.

By making peace the top priority in 2006, you can make a big impact at the local level, helping to build a powerful movement of people willing to organize for peace on Election Day, and beyond. This November, let's hold Congress accountable to the rising tide of public opinion that's urging an end to the war in Iraq and a new direction for U.S. relations with the world.

Become a Peace Voter today.

The Peace Voter Pledge

I will not vote for or support any candidate for Congress who does not make a speedy end to the war in Iraq, and the prevention of any future war of aggression, a public position in his or her campaign.

Take the Pledge Today...

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 •  Tags:   Politics · Bush · Iraq · Vote · Peace Movement

Dems Nationwide Support Lamont

      This confirms my hope that the Democrats must take up the momentum from Lamont's victory and carry it as a national message.   If they do, it will help unify this country again as a people who value peace more than petroleum.   - fc

THE HUFFINGTON POST

New Zogby Poll Reveals that Dems Nationwide Support Lamont and his Anti-War Credentials

by John Zogby
August 11, 2006;

An overwhelming majority of Democrats - 79% - nationwide said they are glad that the three-term senator was defeated by Lamont, who ran a powerful anti-Iraq war campaign. They also said Lamont's victory over one of the few pro-war Democrats in Washington makes them optimistic they can win control of at least one of the two houses of Congress in November.

Our interactive survey, including interviews Wednesday and Thursday with 1,229 likely voting Democrats, also highlighted what Democrats across the country said they want to hear from their candidates -- a resolute opposition to the war. More than three-quarters of Democrats (78%) said they want candidates who oppose the conflict. Just 6% said they think their Democratic candidates should support the war. Another 13% said they want their candidates to take a middling stance somewhere between support and opposition.

Our poll shows the war is creating a unity in the Democratic Party, and the Lamont candidacy both fed off that unity and helped it grow stronger. In a curious way, Joe Lieberman also helped unify the Democrats - an overwhelming majority (71%) said they were unhappy with his decision to run as an independent in the November general election.

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Anti-War Movement & Lieberman

      The defeat of Lieberman by Lamont in the Conn. Democratic Primary has brought talk of the McGovern - Anti-War Movement of the sixties.   These two eras share much in common.   This time there are major differences that people are overlooking.

In the early seventies I was a young teenager that was caught up in the philosophy, music and the protest marches on tv.   We were young and idealistic and most of all we were disgusted with the killing.   At that time there were thousands getting shipped off to Vietnam only to make the nightly news by being documented as faceless cannon fodder returning home in a bodybag.

The War in Iraq is different in that an all volunteer army is being used now (unless you call 'Stop-Loss' the 21st century's conscription tool).   There are a lot fewer deaths but the outrage at the uselessness of their sacrifice is just as great now as it was in the Vietnam War.

There is another and even greater reason that this time the Anti-War Movement is of greater consequence.   All of us middle aged, graying and bald ex-hippies and flower-children all are voters now.   Think about it for a second.   All of us who were revolutionary individualists have been absorbed by the 'Establishment'.

Much noise is being laid down hard and heavy that the Democratic Party is being taken over by the extreme left wing Anti-War element.   The extreme left wing label they want to use is what is wrong with their analogy.   We are centrist, moderates and progressives that are standing up to the current war-mongers.

They want the old sixties meme to infer that we are all nut-cases.   The danger we present to them today is that we have the power to vote them out of office if they do not reflect the now majority of Americans who want our troops out of Iraq.   Lieberman is just a wake-up call to Democrats as well as Republicans.   - fc

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Bush :: Rewrite War Crimes Act

      That's right... He is afraid that he and some of his cabal might have to face war crimes charges, so he wants the 1996 law changed...   Make it so...   Poof...

Presto, We have a new clean and legal rubber-stamp congressional bypass of the Article 3 provision of the Geneva Convention.   They have to get it done before Congress changes hands back to the Democrats in November.

There are more than a few with the heart to fight for impeachment of this cabal of criminals.   Get shed of them...   We need to keep the laws and get rid of the crooks and bring our troops home from the nightmare that Bush has put them thru...   - fc

washingtonpost.com

War Crimes Act Changes Would Reduce Threat Of Prosecution

by R. Jeffrey Smith
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 9, 2006; Page A01

The Bush administration has drafted amendments to a war crimes law that would eliminate the risk of prosecution for political appointees, CIA officers and former military personnel for humiliating or degrading war prisoners, according to U.S. officials and a copy of the amendments.

Officials say the amendments would alter a U.S. law passed in the mid-1990s that criminalized violations of the Geneva Conventions, a set of international treaties governing military conduct in wartime.

"People have gotten worried, thinking that it's quite likely they might be under a microscope," said a U.S. official. Foreigners are using accusations of unlawful U.S. behavior as a way to rein in American power, the official said, and the amendments are partly meant to fend this off.

"This removal of [any] reference to humiliating and degrading treatment will be perceived by experts and probably allies as 'rewriting' " the Geneva Conventions, said retired Army Lt. Col. Geoffrey S. Corn, who was recently chief of the war law branch of the Army's Office of the Judge Advocate General. Others said the changes could affect how foreigners treat U.S. soldiers.

The amendments would narrow the reach of the War Crimes Act, which now states in general terms that Americans can be prosecuted in federal criminal courts for violations of "Common Article 3" of the Geneva Conventions, which the United States ratified in 1949.

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PeaceMakers In Iraq

      This is an update of last saturday's news about 'Troops Home Fast' going to Iraq and meeting with Iraqi Officials.   This is outstanding news, which I hope we learn more about in the near future.

THE JORDAN TIMES

Iraqi parliamentarians to discuss peace plan with anti-war hunger strikers

AMMAN (JT) - A group of American anti-war hunger strikers are scheduled to arrive in Jordan today to meet with Iraqi parliamentarians to discuss peacemaking in the war-ravaged country.

During the meeting, the Iraqi officials will brief the activists on a peace plan they have been working on at the National Reconciliation Conference held in Cairo last week. CODEPINK co-founder Medea Benjamin said: "It is a breakthrough for the US peace movement to meet directly with Iraqi parliamentarians working on a peace plan. We hope to return to the US to build support for their plan."

After their meeting here, the activists will travel to Lebanon to obtain a first- hand view of the destruction caused by the Israeli offensive.

The trip is being sponsored by CODEPINK: Women for Peace and the human rights group Global Exchange.

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 •  Tags:   POLITICS · BUSH · IRAQ · CODE PINK · IRAQ PARLIAMENTARIANS · PEACE MOVEMENT

Cease-Fire in Lebanon

A small but growing number of Representatives are co-sponsoring House Concurrent Resolution 450, calling for an immediate end to the violence in Lebanon and Israel, and negotiation of a lasting settlement to be enforced by international peacekeepers in southern Lebanon. This resolution presents the best hope for an end to the rapidly rising civilian toll in this deeply troubled region and should be approved in Congress.

The United States bears a special moral responsibility in this crisis as the only nation that can bring an end to the violence and relieve the humanitarian catastrophe that has enveloped the people of Lebanon and Israel. Regrettably, Mr. Bush and Secretary of State Rice are all too clearly doing what they can to stall a ceasefire. Each day of delay leads to more unnecessary civilian deaths in both Lebanon and Israel.

Achieving peace in the region requires that the government of Lebanon establish full military control over all of its territory, with Hezbollah disarmed and the rocket attacks stopped. However, it is clear that the Lebanese government is too weak to accomplish these tasks, so an international peacekeeping force is required.

Israel has a right to defend itself against military attacks, but its response to Hezbollah has involved attacks on Lebanese civilians and the destruction of vast amounts of civilian infrastructure totally unrelated to Hezbollah. Fully one-fourth of Lebanese civilians are now refugees. The current Israeli policy of declaring any civilian remaining in southern Lebanon as a target subject to bombardment is simply immoral and has already led to hundreds of civilian deaths, with more certain with each passing day.

The current U.S. policy of delay in favor of continued war is likely to have great consequences for the region, the world and the safety of our nation and its allies. Congress needs to step forward and call for an immediate cessation of hostilities by passing Representative Kucinich's resolution.

Support an Immediate Cease-Fire in Lebanon

I'm writing to ask that you support and co-sponsor House Concurrent Resolution 450, introduced by Representative Kucinich of Ohio. This resolution is the best chance for an end to rising civilian casualities in the region and should be passed by Congress right away.

How many innocent lives will be lost -- on both sides of the conflict -- before America steps up and takes a leadership role? We have a moral obligation to stop the violence and initiate efforts towards peace in the region -- which is exactly what this resolution does.

An immediate cease-fire will put an end to the needless loss of life. Multi-party talks are the only way for all the parties to air their grievances peacefully and come to a settlement. Finally, an international peacekeeping force will clearly be necessary to implement U.N. Resolution 1559 and disarm the militias such as Hezbollah that threaten Israel and destabilize the entire region.

So I ask that you support Representative Kucinich's resolution and demonstrate American leadership towards a peaceful resolution of this conflict. I look forward to your response to my letter.

Sincerely,

Cosmos   •   Tags:   POLITICS · GOVERNMENT · BUSH · LEBANON · ISRAEL