Thank you, Jesse. Well said. While the impact of the war in Iraq on America is among if not the biggest issue of the day, I agree we're overlooking many other problems that are more important to Americans than helping Iraq figure out their civil war.

While the wealthiest Americans like Dick Cheney dodge taxes and find ways to profit from the war, the rest of us are involved in very real struggles such as getting our kids through college, saving enough so that we can eat when we retire, managing the exploding burden of health care costs shifted from employers to employees, and watching our jobs go overseas due to "lack of skilled labor in America".

Maybe if we weren't spending $10 billion a month in Iraq some of these problems at home could be addressed. Just as important, if we got out of Iraq we would not be losing precious American lives for a problem that is no longer ours, if it ever was.

How about a national boycott of consumption and a national campaign to cease making mortagage, rent and credit card payments until the war is stopped and the constitution re-written to represent the people?

I think far more is necessary than to "change course" in this country. The Constitution is inadequate to meet the challenge of our time. Not because it is defective but because it has been interpreted out of its original intent to promote equality. Tinkering will not change anything. A complete re-write in modern language is required.

Here are the words to a song I wrote several years ago during the Clinton administration. They seem even more relevant to me now. The issues haven't changed much.

(Refrain - after each verse)
You can't legislate morality;
At least not when it comes to me;
And I can hate whoever I please;
America's still the land of the free.

1.
Gays in the military just ain't right;
Those fairies don't know how to fight;
With your sons they'll toy and flirt;
Some helpless soldier might get hurt.

2.
Women surely have their place;
And one who dares to show her face;
Where men are known to have their say;
Just asks for trouble anyway.

3.
Kids ain't like they used to be;
And anyone can plainly see;
That prayer in class and uniforms;
Will make our wayward youth conform.

4.
Affirmative action's just a ploy;
To keep out more deserving boys;
And white men always get the worst;
When we all know they should come first.

5.
Been thinking and it seems to me;
Our trickle down economy;
Would work and it would be more fair;
If the poor didn't get such a great big share.

6.
The rich get richer and the poor have kids;
And that's the way it always is;
Don't preach about equality;
Cause I can't change what I don't see.

(Last refrain)
You can't legislate morality;
At least not when it comes to me;
And I can hate whoever I please;
America's still the land of the free -
If you're white, and a man;
And a Christian, conservative Republican!
Then America's still the land of the free!

(c)LeeAnn Gallucci 1998

To Awaken:

I agree that some kind of major event is needed to get the attention of the military industrial complex and the administration. My concern with boycotts is that they would surely lead to the loss of American jobs and even more outsourcing and importation of labor. However, if we boycotted foreign made goods and services we would grab the attention of American companies that have taken our jobs away.

I don't have anything against foreign goods or foreigners. However, we have to understand that the more goods and services we obtain from overseas, the weaker will be the U.S. economy - at least from the viewpoint of the average worker trying to make ends meet for his/her family.

For example, what if we boycotted WalMart? WalMart imports most of what it sells from China. It seems to be that a sustained boycott of the nation's largest retailer could force them to start buying and reselling American made goods, which would in turn create American jobs.

And what about the auto industry? There was a time when cars made in the US did not compare favorably to imports. But now, US automakers are turning out a high quality product and selling it for less than the imports. Think of the money that we would pump into the US economy if we began buying US made cars again? Again, I have nothing against imported cars except that they take American jobs.

Right now I hope that there simply IS another election.

The number one imperative is to restore our Constitutional rights, remove Bush's Executive Orders, and stop signing statements that say the Pres will not enforce laws. A disavowal of the concept of the Unitary Executive must be made. Without doing these things, everything else is irrelevant.

Awaken,

What would you do if the Military Industrial Congressional Media Complex didn't exist?
What do you do differently in recognition of the fact that it does exist?
Why continue with that choice?

With three to five carrier groups in the Gulf of Arabia, Patriot missle batteries being handed out like PEZ, nuclear cruise missles being'accidentaly' transferred willy-nilly acros the countryside, and fundamentalist sabre-rattling coming from the Whitehouse, do you honestly think there is going to BE another election?

guns = money

religion = money

guns = religion

Today change seems to last only if there is money to be made. Incorporate We the People.

Next Election Should Focus on Campaign Spending Limits

The wisdom of Jesse Jackson. I'm very sorry he hasn't considered running for President again.

I have some respect for Jesse Jackson.

But look.
You know why things are a mess?
Because there's no money to fix them.
You know why there's no money to fix them?
Because all the money is going to corporate war profiteers.

You can't get the water out of the boat until you fix the hole in the hull.
Unless and until we address the underlying foundational cause of ALL these problems,
we're just polishing the brass on the Titanic.

liberty & justice,

sj
www.spartacusjones.com

"We need to change course in this country. The Republican candidates for president call for sustaining Bush's policies at home and abroad. This opens the door for the Democratic nominee to offer a clear choice."

A clear choice is only half the battle. If their choices are not viable, they're not worth the paper they were written on or the part of the brain they were created with.

Dear Mr. Jackson and Friends of Rainbow Push:

Please consider making the Call To Impeach an energizing tool for voter registration and grass roots networking, and, most importantly, an action that can be taken today to change the course of the country.

In 1968 their were "only" 4,000 US Troops killed in Vietnam, then a surge occurred. The outcome was close to 60,000 troops killed with even more committing suicide thereafter!

We approach 4,000 Troops killed and 40,000 wounded from the violence in Iraq and Afghanistan, millions(!) of Iraqis and Afghans have been killed and wounded and many millions(!) more have been displaced due to violence and fear, uranium and cluster bombs are being dumped into the environment and private contractors continue to rape the US Treasury while mocking the notion of Freedom for Iraqis.

The National Guard is unable to adequately respond to the citizens of New Orleans and victims of natural disasters while Halliburton avoids bankruptcy and moves its headquarters to Dubai - enough is enough! Yes, help change the direction of the country...please consider making the Call To Impeach a tool for making the start of that change now as well as in the fall of 2008.

Amen.

Amazing how "strapped for cash" the richest nation in the world is when it comes to domestic programs of every description.

Every 4 years we hear the same old "we need to do this and that, becoming enery independant, blah, blah blah". Then 4 years later the same old talk. Been hearing the same old since the 70's, and none of our leaders has stepped up to the talk. We need statespeople, not politicians. Term limits and no "exclusive" retirement system for the elected leaders.

"Solving America's Problems" means the very aggressive rollback of the US Empire as THE primary step. Then monies will become available for adapting to climate change, which itself involves the wholesale retooling of how the US socio-economic-cultural-political system is structured. The latter will NOT happen until the former is accomplished to some degree. This also means that Mr Jackson's program will not happen until the rollback has commenced for awhile. Thus the importance of continuing or discontinuing the Iraqi Holocaust: For the Imperialist Death Party with its democrat and republican factions, this means the continuation of Death/Imperial expansion as visualized by the PNAC and thus the continuance of the grip the Death Party has on US policies; for the remainder of the majority, this represents an opportunity to become civilized as a polity. The difference in choices couldn't be starker.