Pro-Democracy Means Anti-Fascism
“The world is watching the people of Burma take to the streets to demand their freedom, and the American people stand in solidarity with these brave individuals,” - George W. Bush
Watching the pro-democracy marches in Burma both inspires and sickens me. I am inspired by seeing thousands of red-robed monks leading the demonstrations and sickened by the violence they are being met with by the military.
Seeing the images of the monks and others being beaten reminds me of the Democratic Convention in 1968 where Chicago police beat the living daylights out of demonstrators who were there to try and force the party to come closer to the budding anti-war movement. It didn’t work. Instead of wonderful pro-peace candidate, Eugene McCarthy, the party nominated Johnson’s VP, Hubert Humphrey. We know what happened next: Nixon. After last night’s Democratic “debate” I am terrified and assured that the Democrats will have another pro-war nominee.
The other event in my memory that the pro-democracy movement in Burma reminds me of is Kent State, Ohio in May, 1970. Four students were killed and nine were wounded marching against escalation of the Vietnam debacle.. I have heard from many people who were of age to protest the Vietnam war at that time that the killings had the affect of frightening them into not protesting, or scaling their protests back.
Of course the present state of our nation is not as overtly oppressive as the government of Myanmar (Burma), presently where a Nobel Peace Laureate Aung Sang Suu Kyi has been under house arrest there for years, but we who have been paying attention to events can see that America is on the precipice of serious fascism and only the brave actions of Americans committed to freedom, democracy and peace will help stem the tide of this rising neo-fascism that doesn’t march through our streets in goose-step and swastikas, but is creeping into our lives like cat’s paws.
According to Chris Rowthorn, in his brilliant article, When America Went Fascist, we went fascist on December 11, 2000 when the Supreme Court appointed George as our unelected, un-democratic and illegal President. Although it is easy and tempting to blame everything on BushCo, this is about the only assertion that I disagree with in his article.
What about during the Clinton regime? Does anyone remember Elian Gonzales or The Branch Davidians in Waco? Let’s go back further. What about when Truman dropped to WMD on hundreds of thousands of innocent victims in Japan? What about Korea? Eisenhower and the Military Industrial Complex? What about the Gulf of Tonkin? What about Watergate? What about Panama? Kosovo? Nicaragua? Free trade agreements that hurt workers in all countries that are involved in them and what about the abuse of language in this country: Patriot Act; Homeland Security; Clear Water and Clean Skies—and the No Child Left Behind Act that leaves every child behind and is just a funnel to the recruiter’s office?
There are just a few measures that we can use to stop this slide and Rowthorn articulates what has become an important part of my platform. 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.
One of the most profound ways we can stop this descent into fascism is by impeaching, removing from office and incarcerating George Bush and Dick Cheney, et al. I am very skeptical of a complicit Congress, Inc doing anything about them in this term. I am also very skeptical of a “professional” and fascist military leadership taking their oath of service seriously and above their corporate-military allegiance to the Executive Branch recently and so tellingly revealed by General Betray-Us, so a military coup is out of the question and has the tricky element of becoming a military dictatorship.
I was supposed to be in court today in Washington, DC for my last arrest. I didn’t go because I am not under allegiance and repudiate the fascists that run our government and the enforcers who are doing their best Nazi-job of “following orders” in oppressing our rights as Americans.
Why are they beating up a Reverend who served in the Air Force, and honorably left after the illegal and immoral invasion of Iraq, for wanting to attend a hearing in Congress?
Why are they arresting a Gold Star Mother for exercising the very freedoms for which George Bush freakishly says her son died?
Why are my daughter and assistant under indictment for Contempt of Congress when BushCo have steadily refused to testify before committees under oath, or any other way? As a matter of fact, Betray-Us wasn’t even put under oath that day in the House.
Why are college students being tasered for asking the same questions that we all want answered from John Kerry who threw our Representative Republic in the garbage along with the 2004 election?
Why are nooses being hung in the South?
Why do any of us pay our Federal Taxes to a government that we abhor and which we adamantly disagree with? Why do we allow our hard earned money to be used for murder and oppression?
Why is Congress giving BushCo more authority to begin a New World War?
Where are religious leaders to lead us in pro-democracy demonstrations? Most of our mainstream religions suffer from the same neo-fascism that our governmental leaders suffer from.
Why do we march in DC on Saturdays and get arrested just to get arrested? It’s time to descend on DC on a weekday and make commitments to our world and our posterity to over throw this fascism right now?
When can we have a country-wide massive general strike?
Recent reports show that Saddam made overtures to America through the UAE and Spain to go into exile weeks before the March, 2003 invasion of Iraq. Of course, the overtures were rejected because George’s small mind was already made up to invade Iraq before he became president in some sick way to either show up or gain approval from a dysfunctional family. What if Spain’s former President Aznar had spoken up then? What if Colin Powell, George Tenet, or any of the criminal neocons had spoken up to prevent this horrible loss of life and pain before it even started?
I wouldn’t be under a bench warrant right now. Rev wouldn’t be recovering from a badly sprained ankle. Casey would be alive and hundreds of thousands of others would be alive.
We can’t count on anyone but ourselves. It’s now up to we the people to follow the example of our brothers and sisters in Burma to courageously confront the anti-democracy/pro-fascist elements of our society.
Contact Cindy at: Cindy@CindyforCongress.org
Cindy Sheehan is the mother of Spc. Casey Austin Sheehan who was KIA in Iraq on 04/04/04. She is a co-founder and President of Gold Star Families for Peace and the author of two books: Not One More Mother’s Child and Dear President Bush.
Cindy: Keep speaking out. Be visible, be vocal. But keep a bug out bag handy.
You will certainly be welcome here in Canada if it comes to that.
Cindy: You’ll also be welcome in Britain!
Cindy, you are a true blessing but I fear perhaps the reason we kept electing pro-war candidates is Americans have become morally bankrupt. Ironically, they are more “religious” than ever, yet, have not an iota of morality. The more I try to speak to Joe Average on the street the more firmly I believe this country is not far from it’s death rattles. People are arrogant, ignorant, full of false and misguided bravado and can’t seem to string together a coherent thought without Fox news or CNN telling them what they should think. Some days I have hope that somehow we can change things, others I really just want to relocate out of this Country. The problem with relocation is there is no place on the planet one can escape the influence of this Government…
Question: Wasn’t Nazi Germany ‘democratic’? At least in the beginning?
“According to Chris Rowthorn, in his brilliant article, When America Went Fascist, we went fascist on December 11, 2000 when the Supreme Court appointed George as our unelected, un-democratic and illegal President. Although it is easy and tempting to blame everything on BushCo, this is about the only assertion that I disagree with in his article.”
We were on the road throughout the ’90s. My ‘centrist’ friends laughed at me when I told them that BushCo had already crossed the Rubicon, and at every step they comforted themselves with “They can’t do worse, they won’t do worse”.
“We can’t count on anyone but ourselves. It’s now up to we the people to follow the example of our brothers and sisters in Burma to courageously confront the anti-democracy/pro-fascist elements of our society.”
Amen.
“When can we have a country-wide massive general strike?”
Writing in capital letters because I mean it:
LET’S SHUT DOWN THANKSGIVING WEEKEND IN AMERICA!!!
I think not shopping on Thanksgiving weekend, and having a simple meal instead of a gluttony-fest is a marvelous idea. But I am afraid our materialistic brothers and sisters are not ready for it.
For me it is easy. My family has not had a proper holiday since Casey was killed. I was either traveling, in Crawford, or we just didn’t have the heart to have a celebratory event.
On Christmas, my family is together, but Christmas ‘03 was the last time that we saw Casey alive, so it is always hard for us. We are trying to find a new way to have Christmas, and it has become far less commercial for us than it was before Casey was killed.
I will pledge to not go shopping, or flying on Thanksgiving weekend, or have a huge meal, but I haven’t done any of those things (except flying) for the past 3 years anyway.
I will urge this through all the groups I work with because I think it’s a great idea. If we could get the 70% of the country to want peace to join us, it would be profound..
But we got to get to Wal-Mart to buy cheap crap! If we have to trample someone to do it, oh well…that’s the way things go…(SARCASM)
Love
Cindy
Cindy’s right. The country needs to be shut down on a WEEK DAY.
I think these are all symbolic protests that will be obscured by the majority of the greedy and ignorant public. I have never shopped the day after thanksgiving, I hate to get exposed to viruses and crowds, so for me it’s a no brainer not to do it. But frankly this abstinence of a handful few will do diddly squat to change any policy.
Cindy keep on speaking, we support you!!!!!
Cindy Keep speaking - I have faith America will come around.
Cindy, I want to applaud you for all of your efforts. You have been a great example for all Americans who wish things were different in this country.
I must admit tho, I am convinced that the mess we find ourselves in now really started almost 80+ years ago, and has been loosely planned and coordinated ever since. It just took getting the right administration into place to outwardly implement what has been covertly planned for so many years, which was the complete corporate takeover of our federal government. The takeover is complete, and that is why neither Dems nor Republicans do anything substantial to stop this madness. They are powerless, because they have been bought and placed into the positions they are in, cowered into a corner by big business, blood money, and their loyalty to another country before ours (I dare not speak it’s name, lest the bulldozers come after me too).
I did a terrifying little study yesterday. I read the Declaration of Independence, and copied and pasted the reasons given for breaking ties with Britain into an Excel doc. Then, beside that, I listed all the abuses of this current administration that either directly or indirectly reflect or apply to each of the Declaration’s reasons. Out of 27 of them I counted, there were three that haven’t been done by this admin, or recent admins, and they were mainly because they don’t apply to today vs. historical times. I am too afraid to even attempt this type of comparison with our Constitution.
If people think that getting a Dem into the Presidency is going to make any difference at all, they are only fooling themselves. Even the candidates I pseudo-believed in have all cowered under the pressures and money from the above-mentioned sources. There is no people’s voice left. Ron Paul is one voice, but he is being marginalized and there is no chance of him winning the nomination, let alone the office.
I’m not sure who said it, but the quote that keeps coming into my mind lately is “When peaceful revolution becomes impossible, violent revolution becomes inevitable”. Folks, peacful revolution is fast becoming impossible.
Billjv: I think you should post that experiment for us to see.
dear billy
i would love to see that study too.
and of course, how about when granddaddy bush. prescott was working to overthow FDR to install fascism?
i think Jefferson said that.
cindy
Thanks Galen, and here they are - see below. Note that there may be more examples of this admin’s abuse than I have thought of that apply.
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE GRIEVANCES
[BUSH ADMINISTRATION CORRELATION in brackets]
1. He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
[Refusal of effective healthcare reform, rollbacks of controls on corporate malfeasance and corporate limits, installation of industry insiders into positions of watchdog for their industry, willfully aiding the destruction of unions, denying child healthcare, dissolution of public services.]
2. He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
[Signing statements, veto threats]
3. He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
[Redistricting, voter minority manipulation, electronic voting rigging]
4. He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
[Voting on bills during congressional recess, inserting pork barrel legislation into important bills at the last second, ramming the Patriot act through Congress with less than a day to review, using fear and intimidation on those opposed.]
5. He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
[Firing of federal attorneys, replacing federal workers with political appointees loyal only to him]
6. He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
7. He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
[Refusal to enforce and actively weakening immigration laws, opting instead to allow Foreigners to live and work in America without enforcing citizenship restrictions.]
8. He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.
[Attempts to stack the Supreme court, signing statements]
9. He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
[Attorney General scandals, stacking of Federal Judges]
10. He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.
[Homeland Security, Blackwater, TSA, Protest zones]
11. He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
[Blackwater, “free speech zones” enforcement, electronic eavesdropping]
12. He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.
[No declaration of war from Congress, Blackwater]
13. He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
[Signing statements, Patriot Act, Vice-President “not included” in the Executive Branch, Federal Reserve]
14. For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
[Blackwater, Corporate Prison system]
15. For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
[Katrina abuses, Iraq abuses, covering up Blackwater abuses from Congress]
16. For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
17. For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
[IRS, Federal Reserve]
18. For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:
[Guantanimo, dissolving Habeas Corpus]
19. For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:
[Secret prisons abroad]
20. For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies
[Exportation of “democracy”]
21. For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
[Signing statements, electronic voting, DEA, etc.]
22. For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
[Signing statements, Homeland Security, FEMA, DEA]
23. He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
[”You are either with us, or against us” - stifling dissent.]
24. He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
[Removing or easing laws governing corporate pollution, starting unprevoked war]
25. He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
[Iraq, Iran, Blackwater, use of military for monetary gain, American detention centers]
26. He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
[Using local police and secret service to harass and arrest peaceful protesters]
27. He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
Note: I am not a historian, and I’ll admit that one or two of my examples may be stretching to compare with the original grievances - but I think the overall point is very valid. You get the idea.
Billjv: My freind. You have put forth the truth in a form that ALL, here and elsewhere, throughout the world can plainly understand. The crimnal Bush junta has committed all of these offences, and in so doing has utterly VIOLATED every single precept of the US Constitution. They, along with the Senate and Congress, various regulatory, legislative or police agancies, can no longer be construed as the legal representaive government of the United States of America.
Publish this. Disseminate this as broadly as possible. As many people as are willing to see and understand MUST read this document.
Cindy,
About three weeks ago you asked me in an e-mail: “Why doesn’t HE support me”? (Referring to Dennis Kucinich.)I believe that he does support you–and maybe by now he has told you this–but given the circumstances, I don’t know if it would be appropriate for him to do that publicly. I believe that in subtle ways he has covertly let his feelings about Pelosi filter out.
I hope you will be more vocal in supporting Dennis Kucinich because I believe you two are the King and Queen of Progressive Politics. AND he fits the bill of your above list of ONLY who to vote for. You are a TRUE Progressive voice that is heard by other TRUE Progressives and borderline progresives as well.
As things are lined up now, the “top tier” (Gawd, I hate that phrase!) are the other alternatives.
Thanks, Be Well, and I wish I lived in California and your district come Senate seat time!
Where the hell is “Burma”????
I’ve been to Mayanmar, never saw any “Burmese” there.
Is this a cultural thing from people who live in the “North American British Colonies”?
Burma = Myanmar
Myanamar was Burma before the military junta took power. They changed the name of the Country at that time canuckchuck. This is a breakdown from wiki
Myanmar achieved independence from the United Kingdom on 4 January 1948 as the “Union of Burma”. It became the “Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma” on 4 January 1974, before reverting to the “Union of Burma” on 23 September 1988. On 18 June 1989, the State Law and Order Restoration Council adopted the name “Union of Myanmar”. This was recognised by the United Nations, but not by the US or UK Governments.[1]
Myanmar is bordered by China on the north, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, and India on the northwest, with the Andaman Sea to the south, and the Bay of Bengal to the southwest. One-third of Myanmar’s total perimeter, 1,930 kilometres (1,199 mi), forms an uninterrupted coastline.
Are you a soldier opposed to the US invasion and occupation of Iraq, etc? If so, if you had the opportunity to talk to a US President one on one, what would you say? And would you want it used in an antiwar novel that opens like this? - Deadline, Iraq - http://apragmaticpolicy.wordpress.com/2007/09/27/deadline-iraq-2/
Antiwar non-soldiers are also invited to respond.
Bush, Cheney and all the pentagon generals should be executed for the brutal terrorist acts and war crimes they have committed.
also, cindy, the grand mullah of iran (who unlike ahmadinejad is actually in charge) offered to stand down their nuclear program AND make peace with israel but their offer was rejected by the us.
all the arab countries in the mid-east have supported a nuclear weapons free zone for the entire region - guess who rejected it.
israel.
there is no diplomacy. there are no iranians in iraq trying to kill americans. that is another proofless lie of the bushco.
like saddam’s wmd.
they want the war with iran.
they want to dictate to every country in the world the rules by which all commerce will be done.
american hegemony, nothing less.
so i stand with you cindy, i do that knowing we are going to get our asses beat down.
its the right thing to do and i am not afraid.
Cindy,
Have you read the book, Crossing the Rubicon?
Cindy, I’d love to see you beat Nancy Pelosi and take her seat in Congress. It would be payback for Pelosi’s betrayals on impeachment, Iraq and Iran, and it would be another step toward a progressive Congress.
Challenge her in the Democratic primary.
You will have a good chance of winning the Democratic nomination in San Francisco. All the same people who support you now will be able to support you in a primary challenge, including many loyal Democratic voters disappointed with Pelosi. And if you win the primary, you will have a good chance of winning the seat, even if Pelosi tries to pull a Lieberman (which I doubt).
Even if you fail to beat Pelosi in the primary, you will get her attention for sure and demonstrate the anger of antiwar voters with her anemic posture. You will pose a very real threat to her, redoubled by the fact that you would have the option to run in the general election as an independent after losing the primary.
However, your current strategy of running as an independent will certainly fail. You will absolutely not be able to win the seat in the general election. Instead, you will do one of two things: lose to Pelosi, and demonstrate the relative weakness of the antiwar movement, or ease a Republican into her seat, a step back for all of us.
Yes, I know, the DLC and much of the DNC and corporations and media and the whole corrupt machine will be against you in a primary challenge against the Speaker. But you will be up against these same forces and more if you run against her in the general election. If you beat her in the primary, you will have at least some of these forces behind you, along with a huge bloc of loyal voters; and others will at least not oppose you as strongly if you have already won the party nomination.
Cindy, I know you are mad at “the Democrats” but this is based on an illusion. The two-party system is essentially a formal structure that results from having winner-take-all elections. It is very stable in that we have had “Democrats” and “Republicans” continually since the Civil War, but the nature of these beasts has changed greatly in this time. The parties are weak organizations, open to takeover through legally enforced processes such as the primary election which no one can block you from entering and winning.
So, as you know, some Democrats are not so bad, others not so good. Some are very good, and some are quite rotten. We have to change the face of this “Democratic Party” and so change America. We need leaders like you to show the way. Please don’t take us down the same dead-end street as Mr. Nader did.
cindy, we also need to ask people to read the book:
The Shock Doctrine
The Rise of Disaster Capitalism
Written by Naomi Klein
it is an alternative history of the last 30 years and goes along way towards explaining what has happened to us. how we have been shocked repeatedly into giving up our rights and freedoms, and made to live in fear.
shock therapy.
everyone should read it.
here is a link to a short film:
http://www.naomiklein.org/shock-doctrine/short-film
a review:
http://business.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2165023,00.html
a conversation between john cusack and naomi:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/09/25/huffpost-video-john-cusa_n_65861.html
this book - and i know there are many people who feel that they have answers, will help us all understand our predicament and will give us strength to fight back.
it is the book of the decade, please check it out.
The platform listed by Cindy is NOT enough; we need a president who will have Dennis Kucinich’s platform, and/or that of the greens; full equal rights for LGBT people, a department of peace, living wage laws, universal non-profit healthcare, free college education through phd. I will NEVER support a candidate which seems to agree with all of that narrow nationalist today’s-issue junk while putting forth right wing economic and social policy.
http://www.dreamingearth.net
Cindy,
You are right on in your comments regarding Burma. It is sickening what is happening. Also, I appreciate you laying out your platform:
“* 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.”
I agree with and support your platform, with the exception of the timeline of impeaching Cheney and Bush, et al.. Have you considered also supporting a movement for a Second Constitutional Convention? You’re platform will certainly go a long way toward fixing things, however it depends on a noncooperative Congress to support it. Consider a Second Constitutional Convention, with Amendments similar to these:
28th Amendment - proposed by Dr. Robert Bowman to remove the Rights of Persons from Corporations.
29th Amendment - proposed by WTPNet.org as mechanism for the people to enforce the Sworn Oath of Office.
30th Amendment - to repeal all laws relating to the criminalization of Marijuana, in all its forms.
31st Amendment - proposed by WTPNet.org in order to level the playing field when it comes to political campaigns, elections and lobbying.
Please check out the We The People Network at the website www.wtpnet.org
I have outlined the idea of a Convention, that I feel is on very solid legal ground, as well as being possible to pull off.
I would love to talk with you further on the subject.
Peace and Solidarity,
Paul Fisher
We The People Network
www.wtpnet.org
mail@wtpnet.org
Support the Second Constitutional Convention!
“Why are they beating up a Reverend who served in the Air Force, and honorably left after the illegal and immoral invasion of Iraq, for wanting to attend a hearing in Congress?…Why are they arresting a Gold Star Mother for exercising the very freedoms for which George Bush freakishly says her son died?…”
These are excellent questions Cindy Sheehan. The children of this world, the natives “still hangin on”, the imprisoned, institutionalized, isolated and forgotten could tell us. Those who can hear would listen. I hope I could.
Cindy also mentions nothing about taking real steps to stop human-caused global warming, in her list of demands to candidates.
Galen, “Question: Wasn’t Nazi Germany ‘democratic’? At least in the beginning?”
Hitler was elected in a full democratic election by 93% of the German people.
Cindy, fascism sucks but so does socialism. As a matter of fact fascism is a type of socialism.
Fascism and socialism have done more to destroy America than even the warlords themselves.
I think now that Cindy is here, everyone should start pointing the finger at the soldiers again.
Daniel Shays: It’s not the soldiers that are the problem. It’s the guys who pretend to be soldiers after pulling every cheap shit dodge to stay out of the military that are the problem.
Cindy, your articles are the ones I read most carefully, word by word.
You expose the Democrats for what they are: corrupt war profiteers, like their Republican counterparts, only worse. At least Republicans don’t pretend to be on our side.
I hope you unseat that horrible corrupt coward Pelosi and continue your bravery in congress. Just one advice: don’t fly private planes, just commercial. Stay well.
Galen, do you remember the article, it was on the 24th when most of the posters were all slamming the soldiers?
I think now that Cindy is here they should do that. Someone asked them if they would point the finger at Casey, too.
Where are all these cowards now? Speak up, all of you that let congress off the hook, while bashing and blaming the soldiers. Lets hear you rant on now.
“I was supposed to be in court today in Washington, DC for my last arrest. I didn’t go because I am not under allegiance and repudiate the fascists that run our government and the enforcers who are doing their best Nazi-job of “following orders” in oppressing our rights as Americans.”
BRAVO CINDY SHEEHAN!!!!! You are an incredible inspiration to us and set the bar very high; much higher than most peace & justice supporters and activists –including myself, I’m chagrined to say– are willing to go, or have been.
Thank you for your platform, and thanks to Paul Fisher of We The People Network; excellent additions and suggestion of Second Constitutional Convention.
Thanks also to Billjv for your study. I suggest you send it to Glenn Greenwald, a superb analyst and writer, author of New York Times Best-Seller, “What Would a Patriot Do?” (May, 2006), a critique of Bush administration’s use of executive power. Greenwald is currently posting at http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/ (For the past 10 years, he was a litigator in NYC specializing in First Amendment challenges, civil rights cases, and corporate and securities fraud matters.)
Cindy, I have to agree with Nader2000’s pitch for you running against Pelosi as a Dem in the primary. I too am utterly disgusted by and infuriated with the Democratic Party, the DLC, DNCC et al. But he’s right; as a Dem you would really have a chance of delivering a powerful message to a large audience and really making Pelosi sweat; you could win the nomination. You’d get a lot more financial support from around the country too, I think. Please give it serious thought.
Cindy,
I grew up in Roseville Ca.,and went into the Army in May of 1966 gung ho. Before it was over,I spent 425 days in Ft. Dix Stockade for going AWOL after refusing a direct order to go to Vietnam. My 21st birthday, I was celebrating with some student friends in a bar in Davis Ca. when we saw National Guardsmen shooting protesting students at Kent State College in Ohio. That was May 4,1970. I was kicked out of the army May 3,1968. There is NO “thanksgiving” in a dictatorship. What is there to celebrate…I am a grandfather of nine. Every time I look at them, I loathe these fascist anti-Christ neocon zionist murderers even more. Maybe we should fast in sackloth and ashes in protest of these “officials” who pray to AIPAC!
hey everyone
there are many more pieces to my platform…these are just re:
stopping the slide to fascism.
thanks
cindy
Cindy,
Thank you for your courage.
I suspect that the roots of fascism may lie in industrial civilization? I’ve been re-reading Marcuse’s “One-Dimensional Man”. The political psychology of fascism is sado-masochism. Our industrial civilization couldn’t function if we simply beat people to get them to work. For our industrial civilization to work given its level of complexity, people have to voluntarily submit themselves completely to the system—absolute, total submission, i.e., masochism. Thus, their freedom becomes the means by which they are enslaved. For this dynamic to occur, it is necessary that the society be enculturated into accepting a single moral standard. For us, that moral standard is money/power. There is an illusion of choice, but it is only an illusion: coke vs. pepsi; Benz vs. Lexus, lawyer vs. doctor, etc. Not real choices. Once you create a single standard of money/power as the sole criterion of Truth, then sado-masochism and fascism take hold.
To fight it, one has to encourage critical thinking in the society. This is tough as all the forces of marketing, institutionalized education, capitalism, militarism are weighed against critical thinking.
Cindy, just to let you know, I am your biggest fan in North Dakota. Maybe your only one here, since this state is so backwards. I also support Dennis Kucinich, and I wish he would run as an Independent. If he doesn’t, I will write his name in on the ballot. Wouldn’t that be something, if all of us who support him wrote his name in and he won? Hey, it could happen. I was living in Minnesota when Jesse Ventura ran for Governor and won. Nobody, not even him, thought he could win, but he came along at just the right time. When people were sick and tired of the same old politics and the same old politicians. I wish you well in California, and in all your endeavors. You have given all of us so much, and it is really appreciated. We need more people like you.
Cindy I love you!!!
Kristina40 September 28th, 2007 12:54 pm
I couldn’t have said it better. My family and I left the United States to live abroad three years ago but I return on occasion to visit family and friends. What I hear from the people in their 40s is the same “bumper-sticker” bullshit put out by FOX. The use of the word “nigger” has increased since I left and apparently includes anyone that is not of Anglo extraction and has an accent. So like Hitler, George W has created a focus for hate in the United States. So I agree with Kritina40, “Americans have become morally bankrupt” or maybe they always were.
Cindy, time is of essence. As a leader ask the people to consider the formation of Independent People’s Movements in their localities. You aready have spelled out a program for stopping the slide towards fascism. Suggest 4-5 additional programs, such as end of war, world disarmament,feed the poor,universal health care,etc. I am sure, the great majority of the population will rally in support of such programs.
To victory
Vangelaras
Cindy,
I understand your motivations for not showing up for a court date, but it would be nice for you to stay out of jail for now. Running for office from prison has been done - Eugene Debs ran for president from behind bars in 1920, but it really will hurt your chances…
The system of power will never destroy itself; we have to take it down. It would be nearly impossible to elect someone willing to do it given the constraints on the political system. (**cough** Ralph Nader, Dennis Kucinich **cough**)Any reasonable person who did happen to make it would be very limited and likely be stopped dead from making serious fundamental changes. That’s exactly the way it holds itself together. If you don’t conform, you don’t get into it. If you happen to get into a seriously powerful spot in the hierarchy, the opposition is so overwhelming that nothing gets done. In fact, you will be marginalized.
My point is that everyone throws their weight behind political candidates of the 2 parties (even the lesser evil, the dems) that have no interest in serious change because it threatens their power. If they put the power into the hand of the people, it’s their loss, and it’s not suicidal. That is not the answer.
Mass, radically democratic (from the bottom up) politcal movements are the only answer. Given the support for Hillary by many in the so-called left has shown no lessons have been learned. We lose again and so does the world. While we’ll all be sitting there wondering, yet again, what happened.
No more leaders! Only people, fully equal, working in solidarity can we create the society we need. Stop being managed and take control of your lives.
The number of people who want deep social changes is far greater than the number controlled by the Rebublicratic machine. The people’s demands for peace, health care, economic justice and protection of the Constitution and the environment are resisted by the “two” party machine.
WE THE PEOPLE neither can nor want to continue on the slippery path of war, exploitation and fascism. And the “two” party machine neither can, nor wants to meet the people’s demands.
Clearly a prerevolutionary situation.
Vangelaras
Anyone, please, name me one candidate for POTUS, besides Ron Paul, who will not rush to Israel to proclaim their undying loyalty, pledge allegiance to that phony baloney democracy.
“Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what’s for lunch.”
Ben Franklin
Cindy,
Please run! Nancy Pelosi is shoving the war, NCLB, privatization, fear, poverty, and everything else up the fascist-neocon-deregulated-hate-humanity sleeve down our collective throat.
You’ve got 50 million people behind you! And that number could triple by November 2008.
Om mane padme Cindy Sheehan!
when this administration and all of it’s unpunished war-criminals finishes dismantling the constitution and plundering the treasury, what is going to be left to the common man besides the ruins of what once was a great nation?
Re: “Recent reports show that Saddam made overtures to America through the UAE and Spain to go into exile weeks before the March, 2003 invasion of Iraq. Of course, the overtures were rejected because George’s small mind was already made up to invade Iraq before he became president in some sick way to either show up or gain approval from a dysfunctional family.”
I remember reading some time ago, perhaps a piece from Robert Fisk, that the very same Saddam made an appeal to George Bush Sr. in 1990 or 1991 (?), just before Saddam’s Kuwait invasion, about Kuwait’s slanted oil drilling along the Iraqi border, essentially “stealing” Iraqi oil.
But George Sr. was too busy taking vacation to take the call that could have averted that disaster.
Seems that this out-of-touch, abundant vacation-taking bit runs in the family….
Cindy, run in the Dem primary against Pelosi, if you don’t top her, run in the general as an indy. One way or the other you’ll be her spoiler, and she’ll be gone. Follow what rules/laws you can and need too, for surely they’ll use them against you, and in the most dastardly way they can. See ya in DC!
Thank you, Cindy, for bringing H O P E to citizens of this country, and obviously, to the World.
Cindy,
You make some good points. I agree with you on some things and think you go a little overboard on others. After all, the main problem with fascism is the lies the government plants. These are usually radical statements that are obviously false. If you want more people to listen to you, be a little more moderate in your views. A lot of things in this discussion and this article are stretched. They are true, but framed in a certain way to make a point. Just report absolute facts. Remember, a fascist government does the same thing you are doing. (I am not portraying you as evil or in any means bad. Just think about what you are saying.) Don’t bend people’s perspectives like others do.
Other than that, you have good ideas. America has screwed up badly, and I don’t know what to make of the Dick Cheney situation. But the war was started for good causes, and it is our duty to give people a chance. We shouldn’t sit idle in our rich country. I like the idea that you protest, as we should, but you should focus on th worst things first.
Think about Tiananmen Square. Those people were killed without mercy for demanding the things we take for granted today. We need to focus on basic human rights before these intracacies of our government.
In conclusion, keep on doing what you’re doing, but think about what I wrote. Don’t just mention the monks in Myanmar, be those monks. Sacrifice for the world, and more can be achevied than with these wishes that are probably not going to be granted for sometime.
P.S. I hate to say this, but don’t use a soldier excuse for Iraq. I am sorry for the death of your son, but I am proud for the things he did. That’s what makes our army what it is. Young people know what they must do, must sacrifice, yet they still are called to this duty. They do not feel angry over this war (usually) because they knew what would be asked of them. I personally thank all the brave men and women who fight overseas for spreading democracy.