CINDY SHEEHAN,BOYCOTT !!DEMAND BUSH BE IMPEACHED AND THE TROOPS BROUGHT HOME OR WE WILL NOT VOTE IN THEIR PRIMARY OR ELECTION !!IMAGINE THEY GAVE A VOTE AND NOBODY CAME !!!!

vangerlaras-affirmative,i agree..

OuterBeltway & Paul Bramscher

OuterBeltway the root of the "modern politics" I propose is revolutionary. Nothing less will do. Only effort to knock out and replace the tenets -economic and political- of capitalism can put the country on the road to peace, justice and harmony with the world and planet Earth. Our method will be peaceful,electoral,democratic. Usually capitalism, when it loses or thinks it is going to lose, does not respect democratic processes and strikes insiduously and violently. If that happens, then "we the people" will continue defending our Constitution by bringing down the outlaw government by using all appropriate means.

It is futile at this moment to discuss a methods of arriving at a detailed exhaustive list of programs. It is clear by now that the masses of the people and the progressive political organizations want solutions to a few vital problems, such as PEACE, WORLD DISARMAMENT & DRASTC CUTS of MILITARY BUDGETS, NOT FOR PROFIT UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE, FREE PUBLIC EDUCATION, ELIMINATION OF POVERTY, PROTECTION OF PLANET EARTH AND SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. These demands can be expresed with fewer words, such as
PEACE, DISARMAMENT, JUSTICE, ENVIRONMENTAL SANITY.

It is not important if the local organizations of a People's Movement differ about how many and which of the key demands they want to emphasize or campaign for. They can add or substract as many as they want, if they feel that their effectiveness will be boosted at their local level. What is important is that the locals are free to develop their initiatives but they consider themselves a local branch of the big tree of the People's Movement which fights for PEACE - JUSTICE - DISARMAMENT- ENVIRONMENTAL SANITY against the "two" political stooges of the merchants of war, exploitation and environmental destruction.

The big question is to have a starting spark for a People's Movement by someone who is respected in the progressive movement for his/her courage, honesty, intelligence and leadership qualities. No matter how many times I have tried to think of the right person, I always come up with the same conclusion: CINDY SHEEHAN. Her run against Pelosi can also serve the local initiatives for setting up People's Movement branches by rallying support
for her election, by adopting all or some of her PEACE-DISARMAMENT-JUSTICE-ENVIRONMENTAL programs
and organizing financial assistance for her election. Let us hope that Cindy has noticed our chattering and gives us some clue.

i respect and admire ms.sheehan,beyond words..for her ACTION..on behalf of casey and the american people ! and i am sincerely heartfelt for her loss,due to an aggressive illegal,immorral,and UNNECESSARY,MISPLACED ACT OF REVENGE..executed falsely on behalf of the american people. if ms. sheehan has ever spoken in terms of'overpopulation'than i will never vote for her.if humanity or even just one nation strives to do the 'right'thing,overpopulation would always eventually take care of itself,thru natural acts or just the wise use of resources and a modicum of self-government.democracy was designed to be a ruling doctrine,not by means of impelling(violence and 'unnatural acts) the masses but by the art of COMPELLING,or being a sucessful,shining and noble example of freedom that the rest of the world would desire for and strive for want of those same blessings..

Well, maybe I missed the point but I posted this here yesterday and its been removed..can anyone say why that shouldbe...the piece is about P E A C E...AND getting our kids tuned in to reject war as the boy in the song does...is that against the spirit of this debate? Tx

What are the medals for

What are the medals for, Dad
Why did he get them all
Was it because he fired faster
Were they lined against a wall

Chorus
did he enjoy the war
did he hear them cry or roar
did they want to go to war
Did he stand and watch them fall

Dad, did he really have to kill
Is that what he was paid to do
Was it so important
Did we win, or did we lose

He's a hero son
Did it for his country, see
That's the way the world was -
Kept us all at home free

Chorus
Did he enjoy the war
did he hear them cry, or roar
did they want to go to war
did he stand and watch them fall

What are the medals for

Will I have to learn to kill, Dad
Or do we learn from history
I don't need any medals
Will they listen to boys like me

What are the medals for

What are the medals for
What are the medals for

(c) roger antony carter 2006

people who fret over over-population are good candidates for changing sides and going over to the bush camp.because that is exactly what fuels bush and co.they are sure they are the 'deciders' and that they are doing the world,a tremendous favor..

"I have told you before, there are NO ACCIDENTS! No man is sent accidentally and innocently off to war. He who kills must learn what killing is by being the victim. You will learn that you cannot buy peace through violence. You will learn it! You will learn not only that human life is sacred, but that the life within each molecule and atom is sacred." -from The Sacredness of Life by Seth

To read the complete article, visit: http://www.diaryofaghost.net It contains an important message we all need to hear. Share it with others!

Great post, Cindy!

WE CREATE OUR OWN REALITY

During the course of everyday events we often forget the role of thoughts in the forging of our material reality. We get lost in the visible symbols, the material by-products of our imaginations, forgetting the invisible blueprints from which they, and we, emerge.

Pure energy like money, its material equivalent, is shaped into matter and experience by thought. It can be used to lift up or smash down, to build character or destroy character, to express love or express hate, to beautify or make ugly.

The purpose, or challenge, of life is to learn how to use thought in its various forms to shape energy into a pleasing reality. The prize is a sense of satisfaction, a feeling of a job well done. And, like learning to walk or talk, it is a personal, subjective endeavor that requires creative aggression. It is a great balancing act, where one must accept falling down in the course of learning how to stand up.

Remember:

Thoughts are "things" with a reality of their own and you an artist. With thoughts in the forms of belief, attitude, value and expectation you paint the landscape of your life.

© Copyright 1991, LifeSong

How we define ourselves and the world around us forms our intent, which, in turn, forms our reality. To change the world for the better we need to change ourselves for the better. To me, changing the world for the better means making it more loving, truthful and joyful. All I want to do is be me!
Don't you?

"We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience." - Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

Hank Fur: Thanks for your post. I bought 'HARPER'S magazine last night and read the well-written article by Garret Keizer. He says " Election Day,November 6, 2007 to start the 'general strike' for the sole purpose of removing this regime from power'.

I've been advocating the general strike for several years, for basically the same reasons, and have posted similar comments on other Common Dreams articles, but most Americans really don't care about anything but themselves, so there is little support for taking effective action against the ever-growing tyranny of this government.

Vangelaras: Yes on all 9 items.

Ezeflyer: Excellent posting! The world must confront the problem of overpopulation,

This is a continuation of the essay on armed struggle (Jihad) in Islam:

Just as the Quran provides instruments to make war within strictly hewn, divinely prescribed limits, it also provides mechanisms to restore peace:
1. The Quran commands that Muslims yield to the call of peace, even from their enemies, either because a person and people choose conscientious objection, that is, not to participate in the aggression of their people against Muslims, or because they take asylum among those who have affirmed their treaty of peace with the Muslim community. "Excepted from your legitimate fighting are those who take asylum with a people wherein there is a treaty between you and them; and also those who come to you with their hearts constrained from fighting you against you, or from fighting their own people. Had God so willed, He would have give them power over you. Then they would have most surely fought you. Therefore, if they withdraw themselves from belligerence against you, and do not fight you, and offer you peace, then God accords you no lawful way to fight against them," (4:90).
2. This command extends to belligerents who agree to lay down war's burden, as well, not meaning surrender, but simply cessation of hostility. "Yet if they incline to peace, then incline to it also—but rely upon God alone. Indeed, it is He who is the All-Hearing, the All-knowing," (8:61).
3. Belief in Islam is not a requirement for peace, nor for good relations between Muslims and other peoples, so far as the Quran is concerned, but Muslims are given no authority to surrender or bargain with the rights of the usurped and persecuted, who must be upheld. "God does not forbid you from honorable relationships with those who have not fought you over religion, nor expelled you from your dwellings—that you relate kindly and equitably with them. Indeed, God loves those who are just. God only forbids you from making alliances with those who have fought you over religion and expelled you from your dwellings and aided others in expelling you. And whoever befriends such as these, it is they who are the wrongdoers, godless in heart," (Quran, 60:8-9).

We shall give the last word on this to Muhammad Diraz (d.1958), Azhari shaykh and Sorbonne-educated philosopher: "Islam is a religion of excellence and excelling in goodness. Yet, it is a goodness that is not contrary to justice, that does not tolerate crimes, that does not forsake the rights of people who are fettered and exploited to those wrongdoers who wish to consume them. It is a religion that believes in goodness and justice, together."

"Muslims could not proclaim "jihad" against infidels."

I just wanted to address your above comment. This is a total misconception of Islam and Jihad and I would like to post a segment of an essay in which armed struggle (jihad) in Islam is discussed.

"These six summative points of armed struggle as the Quran delimits it will have to suffice as general guidelines for the purposes of providing sufficient background information for the reading of this text [the translation of the Quran]:
1. Islam began in Makkah as a peaceful call to (a) abandon idolatry; (b) know and worship God as He is, One; (c) believe in the Scripture He sent down, the Quran, and the Messenger He sent it through, Muhammad, peace on him; and (d) keep conscious the God shall resurrect all people in the Hereafter and hold them accountable for all that they think, say, and do. In this entire period, for at least thirteen years, Muslims were FORBIDDEN to fight, at all, even in the face of aggression, persecution, and violation, "Stay your hands from fighting and duly establish the Prayer and give the Zakat-Charity," (Quran, 4:76).
2. The Quran permits—indeed, exhorts—Muslims to defend their persons, families, and properties against aggression, and it clearly states its reason: "Permission to fight back is given to those who believe who are being fought because they have been wronged. And, indeed, God is all-able to give them victory. These are the ones who have been expelled from their homes without any right, for nothing more than saying: Our Lord is God alone! For had God not decreed to repel some people by means of others, demolition would certainly have come to many hermitages, and churches, and synagogues, and mosques, in which the name of God is much mentioned in praise. Yet, most surely, God shall support whoever supports faith in Him. Indeed, God is, most surely, all-powerful, overpowering. These are the ones who—when We set them in authority over the land—they duly establish the Prayer, and give the Zakat-Charity, and enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong. Yet to God alone belongs the ultimate end of all affairs," (Quran, 22:38-40).
3. Islam forbade all wars motivated by religious prejudice or zealotry, the aim of which is to force conversion to a particular faith. In a celebrated verse of [the Quran], (2:256), God says, "There shall be no compulsion in religion! For truly rectitude has been made clearly distinct from perversity." Also, God directly instructed the Prophet, peace on him: "Had your Lord so willed, all who are on the earth would have believed in your message—each one of them and all of them together. Will you, then, be the one to compel people to faith so that they become believers, O Prophet?" (Quran, 10:99).
4. The Quran forbade all wars whose aim is geopolitical or economic hegemony and whose means are devastation and destruction: "Such is the abode of the Hereafter: We have made it only for those who desire neither exultation in the land nor corruption," (Quran, 28:83).
5. The Quran institutes peace as the normative state of human relations, and makes this and mutual acquaintance the ideal to be attained to between human beings and communities, with war the exception, placing an absolute sanctity on the lives, freedoms, dignity, and properties of others. In the interest of preserving and restoring this normative human condition, the Quran legislates war against aggression and persecution, while condemning the commission of aggression even by those who are in the act of fighting it, even if they believe—as the verses that open this article note.
6. The Quran expands its command permitting the fight against aggression to a God-given right of the oppressed upon the believers, who must, if they can, attain a way to delivering the helpless from tyranny. "Then what is with you that you do not fight in the path of God, and for the utterly helpless among the men and the women and the children who say: Our Lord! Bring us out of this city whose people are oppressive wrongdoers, godless in heart. And appoint for us, from Yourself, an invincible ally. And appoint for us, from Yourself, a mighty supporter," (Quran, 4:75)."

EDUCATION, EDUCATION, EDUCATION!
POPULATION CONTROL. BIRTH CONTROL. FAMILY PLANNING. INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY. AND IT ALL COMES BACK TO EDUCATION,EDUCATION, EDUCATION.

For BARIEM and CHUNGA

BARIEM:

Just an idea of what type of programmatic targets and idealistic motivations, which can never be pursued by the instruments of imprialism (democrats and republicans), could propel the majority of Americans to form their own winning independent People's Movement.

Regarding steps already taken ( and failed) for
disarmament and implementation of the NPT, we must try again on an entirely different basis of cooperation and solidarity with the other nations and not on the basis of liberal imperialism under the Democrats or world fascist domination under the Republicans.

CHUNGA:

I am not trying to present a program, subject to specific suggestion for refinements. I only try to conceptualize the dimensions for a succesful independent People's Movement in the United States, outside the asphyxiating dead end "two" party box. Therefore, you can understand the lack of refinement and roughness of certain items in the presented proforma platform:

---Yes, if "we the people" form our People's Movement we should expect nasty resistance by the powers of the establishment. The more effective the program of the People's Movement, the more threatening it is going to be to the status quo and the more viciously they are going to fight us. Cindy Sheehan, as she advances her struggle, she knows that the road to peace with justice, is strewn with pain, sweat and tears. If I have understood Cindy well from this and other writings, she sees the struggle evolving into a People's Movement, as the only way out.

-- Free health care? It is true everything has a price, but other societies,with socialized medicine, charge less for more, much more for your health,and the health of you children. There health care is valued as a fundamental human right. In capitalist America we pay about twice as much per capita for less health care. Insurances, Hospitals and Drug Industries extract huge profits while about 47 million people are uninsured, and the majority of those who are insured have hard time making the payments for deductibles, insurance premiums and medication.
Many times people, faced with finacial catastrophy, skip treatment or medication. If the American capitalist medicine treats you physically for some ailment, all too often puts you in a state of mental depression with the horrendous medical bills that follow.

In socialized medicine you pay your taxes, there are no insurance companies, pharmaceuticals are either nationalized, or under strict price control, the doctors are well paid for exercising their Hippocratic oath, and they cannot become millionaires in their fist five years of practice
and each citizen carries a medical insurance card.
Any time she/he visits a doctor or a hospital or a pharmacy she/he shows the card. She/he does not pay; does not have to worry about the cost of the medication, or the cost of treament, or days in the hospital. She/he is getting preventive medical care and is covered also for mental health care. As I said before, she/he paid taxes
for health and many other useful things, such as fire and police service, public education, park and road maintenance etc. We call all these services "free" not because they do not cost anything, but because we do not pay a price any time we use them. Their cost of use, paid from our taxes, is not burdened with profits.

---I meant to say Free Public Education and affordable Higher Education. I was interrupted after the "affordable" and later I forgot to complete the sentense.

---I would like to know about Henry George and his economics. I am going to check the website you gave me.

participatory economics and participatory democracy.

Anything can be 'Imagined' and with further thought and work even accomplished.....have we considered that if won was imagined as ONE there would be no us and them. The world has all the resources needed to support, educate, and sustain itself. Live peace and love, do as you would be done by, neighbor as self. Sovereign beings responsible for actions and words can change and accomplish anything they wish to 'Imagine'

Well, I would not go so far as to call your use of the word 'testosterone' sexist, but as a woman writer you should tend to circumspection in matters sexual. Otherwise, strive for dramatic effect, as a good writer should. Like Shakespeare.

"Be not too tame neither, but let your own discretion be your tutor: suit the action to the word, the word to the action; with this special observance, that you o'erstep not the modesty of nature: for any thing so overdone is from the purpose of playing, whose end, both at the first and now, was and is, to hold, as 'twere, the
mirror up to nature;"

-Hamlet.

eureka..it just hit me ! an official bush slogan t-shirt(probush.com) reads "give war a chance"THE BASTARD RIPPED-OFF JOHN LENNON !

Anarchistic philosophy is typically starts out with a few observations about social systems:

1) They self-organize to the optimal point, neither too much nor too little. Bees, ants and other social insects, traditional human societies, etc. Human society has a tendency to over-organize because violence, ignorance and greed of a few sociopaths puts them into positions of power (whether corporate, government, or the real hybrid of the two).

2) Violence is arguably a biological reality of the animal kingdom, herbivores included. A minority of our species has been able to recognize and overcome it (Jains, Buddhists, anti-war pacifists, etc.). Perhaps the majority of our species has not overcome its impulses. Nonethless, we might even argue that there's an "optimal violence" in any animal social system, which balances the needs of internal power jockeying vs. cohesion, external power jockeying vs. external cohesion, etc. Human societies, again, tend to produce far more violence than is ordinarily the case, since those few sociopaths which rise to the top instigate their masochism broadly.

I really see this issue as something that ethologists, primatologists, and anarchist philosophers have already solved. The problem is that there are too many sociopaths in positions of power. In the animal kingdom, the dominant male is dominant (including monopoly on mating) because -- theoretically -- his genetics best ensures survival of the herd. But if his leadership for the herd became detrimental, one of the beta males would simply take him out.

gimme some truth!

I like that bit in one of Star Trek episodes where Captain Piccard explains to a refugee from the 20th century that money no longer exists--that we've outgrown it. Imagine it. Like Gene Roddenberry. Like John Lennon. We have made profound progress in the arts and sciences. Albert Einstein, Erich Fromm, Abraham Maslow, Aldous Huxley, Albert Camus, Wallace Stevens, Emily Dickinson, Rachel Carson, etc.. illuminated the path. Why can't we follow it to a glorious future and stop listening to the "parasitic greedheads" (to use a Bruce Cockburn term)?

WELL said, Rtdrury – "Beings with the capacities for reason and ethics are obligated to over-ride primal drives and use these capacities to build justice, peace and prosperity. Failures to do so manifest in various ways - apathy and active power abuse are two."

Not everyone can override primal drives for one reason or another – and I stand by my statement that testosterone is a serious societal concern. My doctor told me its two purposes are: screwing and killing. He is a scientist, a chemist, and an M.D. so I take his word for it. I also read the news. I'm also not going into an apologetic shuffling "But I really DO love men" (I love many men, like a lot of them - oh geez here I go.)

Also - it is hard for peple to understand fractional reserve - and banking unless you have some familairity with it. People- this is surely better than lining up in front of representatives and institutions who think we are powerless because we don;t have money (in their ters)!!

Once and for all - lets show them -that WE KNOW they are USING our own money and if we withdraw it - they are exposed for what they are - shadows!!

i think a good attention getting idea for a mass protest,would be wearing bush the official t-shirts"give war a chance" and wearing the bush button "youre with us or youre with the enemy"then add to the attire,devil's horns,tail and pitchfork....i am still incredulous,that these are the ACTUAL items to be found at probush.com i mean seriously"give war a chance"and "youre with us or youre with the enemy" !!when i first tuned into this website,i thought it was a parody or farce....IT WAS FOR REAL !!TRUTH IS STRANGER THAN FICTION..i can imagine thousands of people donned in bush slogan attire,completing the look appropriately with devil's horns and shouting in unison"we believe=george must leave !the original probush website can be archive and it had a geo.bush action doll(like ken)DRESSED IN A FLIGHT SUIT !!god,i wish i could purchase that,so i could stick pins in it !!i am sure that is the reason,the item is no longer for sale.....

Preemptive Peace!!

Bless your heart Cindy

Hey Rebel:

One can NOT put them into regional banks (local banks) because they are ALL connected. The point I am making is that the system is an illusion - please DO go to the link I have submitted in the previous post.

A little math will show that to lend out 50 million dollars - you only need 5million - however - a huge amount of money is generally under that - and so banks only require 3 percent as reserves - there fore 3 million dollars acts as reserves for 100 million dollars.

The point is - the money must be withdrawn from the system. It is an exclusive club being able to open a bank - and thats because it IS a system. I am ABSOLUTELY positive - that of we DO get this going - the world as we know it is hanged (till they make it illegal for you to withdraw your own money).

Themost important thing about this is to show unequivocally that we know how the system works. Once thats done - there will be a lot less pork, corruption and certainly more accountability and of course response to their constituents.

I prefer "God Bless America" over "Imagine". That's a good place to start.

And if there were nothing else to fight over, the conflicts would be reduced to who has blue eyes and who has brown.

I prefer "God Bless America" over "Imagine". That's a good place to start.

Amd of there were nothing else to fight over, the conflicts would be reduced to who has blue eyes and who has brown.

COMark, I imagine feeling your sentiments.

Thank you, Cindy, for your fresh inspiration and hope, nation and world-wide.

If freedom = NO MANIPULATION, W I T H O U T... religion + political boundaries + possessions + FEAR.
The fear bully may topple - within our own hearts and heads.

From my Las vegas experience, I can only advise: Don't go, at all, for any reason. Take the 150 mile construction detour. The gravel dust is endurable.

If you're in the airport, DEFINITELY watch your bag. (Wish it didn't have to be.) Vegas is the capitol of taking-advantage-of-people land, right along with gambling, and it occurs on all fronts there. Even if you're on your honeymoon and have a car accident there....take the ambulance over to N. California.

We saw the zoned-out looks and buckets of quarters, the gross cheeseburger breakfasts. And the service industry people who hear the slot machines...they get used to it and tune them out, I asked.
The hotel staff stole from us as our wrecked car sat on a tow truck in the parking lot. The insurance adjuster and repair shop further stole. I hope that their kickback (...plasma screen tv's?) were worth ruining 2 people's lives beginning to come togehter, health, careers, hopes....

For a lively and gut-inspiring

MUSIC BREAK,

please do take 3 to 4 minutes to hear anti-$war$ sentiments in music.

Listen to the political lyrics of the song "Civil War," energetically performd by Guns N' Roses (and produced by Mike Clink). What a way to attract a PUBLIC GATHERING - FOR PEACE, 16 yrs. later.

"Civil War" is the first song on album "Use Your Illusion II" (1991), also the 7th song on album "Use Your Illusion." By Guns N' Roses and both on cd.

They tried to wake up the masses, through political lyrics set to a stomping beat in this song. Guns N' Roses have, unfortunately, long-since disappeared from (driven out) of the music recording and radio play industries. surprise.

The consummer-following, tv/video-game/internet-zoning, sugar/shopping/gambling/kitchen gadget (insert vice)-addicted layout of current U.S. culture could actually become less popular!…maybe even go outside and notice (preserve) nature before it's paved over and (already) OVERpopulated. Thanks for listening.

Hey, Popeye!

I always seem to be several hours behind you. I love your idea, but you need to make your post a little shorter and more concise. I would also recommend a section about what to do with the money that we withdraw from the system. Most people aren't comfortable with putting it in a coffee can or in their mattresses. I suggest that all accounts, including IRA accounts be transfered to locally owned banks and credit unions. This has the added benefit of keeping money and profits in the local communities. To increase the impact, refinance any debts you have with the same banks and credit unions. This includes credit cards. Also, if you think you may find yourself in bankruptsy, make sure that any of that debt is held by the big boys, not your local folks. I would also encourage anyone that can afford it to stock up on food and essentials that will last for 3 to 6 months. The value of the dollar is tanking and the financial/economic situation is heading south in a hurry. Better to be safe than sorry.

This plan could actually work if enough people participated.

And it rained real hard

STOP THE FACISTS

Why Population Matters
September 24, 2007

Our civilization is being squeezed between advancing deserts and rising seas. Mounting population densities, once generated by the addition of over 70 million people per year, are now also fueled by the advance of deserts and the rise in sea level. Expanding deserts are primarily the result of overstocking grasslands and overplowing land. Rising seas result from temperature increases from the burning of fossil fuels. China is losing productive land at an accelerating rate. From 1950 to 1975 China lost an average of 600 square miles to desert each year. By 2000, 1,400 square miles were going to desert annually. Satellite images show two deserts in north-central China expanding and merging to form a single, larger desert overlapping Inner Mongolia and Gansu provinces. To the west in Xinjiang Province, two even larger deserts--the Taklimakan and Kumtag--are also heading for a merger. Further east, the Gobi Desert is within 150 miles of Beijing. Chinese scientists report that over the last half-century, 24,000 villages in northern and western China were abandoned as they were overrun by drifting sand. Kazakhstan, site of the vast Soviet Virgin Lands Project, has abandoned nearly half of its cropland since 1980. In Afghanistan, with a population of 31 million, the Registan Desert is encroaching on agricultural areas. A UNEP team reports that up to 100 villages have been submerged by windblown dust and sand. In the northwest, sand dunes are moving onto agricultural land, from the loss of stabilizing vegetation due to firewood gathering and overgrazing. Iran, which has 70 million people and 80 million goats and sheep, is losing its battle with the desert. In 2002 sand storms buried 124 villages in the southeastern province forcing their abandonment. Drifting sands had covered grazing areas, starving livestock and depriving villagers of their livelihood. The Sahara Desert is pushing the populations of Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria northward toward the Mediterranean. In countries from Senegal and Mauritania in the west to Sudan, Ethiopia, and Somalia in the east, the demands of growing human and livestock numbers are converting land into desert. Nigeria is losing 1,355 square miles to desertification each year. While Nigeria's human population grew from 33 million in 1950 to 134 million in 2006, its livestock population grew from 6 million to 66 million. The food needs forced the plowing of marginal land and the forage needs of livestock exceeded the carrying capacity of its grasslands. Nigeria's population is being squeezed into an ever-smaller area. In Mexico, the degradation of cropland forces some 700,000 Mexicans off the land each year in search of jobs in nearby cities or in the United States. Rising seas promise to displace greater numbers in the future. During the twentieth century, sea level rose by 6 inches. During this century seas may rise by 4 to 35 inches. Since 2001, record-high temperatures have accelerated ice melting making it likely that the future rise in sea level will be even greater. If the Greenland ice sheet, a mile thick in some places, were to melt entirely it would raise sea level by 23 feet, or 7 meters. A one-meter rise would inundate many of the rice-growing river deltas and floodplains of India, Thailand, Viet Nam, Indonesia, and China. A one-meter rise in sea level would cause some 30 million Bangladeshis to migrate, internally or to other countries. Hundreds of cities would be at least partly inundated, including London, Alexandria, and Bangkok. More than a third of Shanghai, would be under water. A one-meter rise combined with a 50-year storm surge would leave large portions of Lower Manhattan and the National Mall in Washington, D.C., flooded. If the Greenland ice sheet should melt, it would force the abandonment of thousands of coastal cities and communities. Rising seas and desertification will present the world with an unprecedented flow of environmental refugees and the potential for civil strife. We must deal with rapid population growth, advancing deserts, and rising seas. Growth in the human population is accompanied by a growth of livestock populations of more than 35 million per year. The rising concentrations of carbon dioxide that are destabilizing the earth's climate are driven by the burning of fossil fuels. Reverse these trends or risk being overwhelmed by them.

http://www.overpopulation.org/

For those who don't know or don't remember . . . immediately after 9/11, we were denied any future opportunity of hearing John Lennon's "Imagine" played on our radios . . . !!!! And we still are not permitted to hear that song.
Imagine that!!!
If you want to know how dangerous those who sing anti-war songs are, indeed, that says it all.

And those who speak anti-war are also dangerous and there is a long list of courgeous anti-war people whose lives have been taken because of that stand.

Thank you, Cindy for continuing to speak anti-war and for having the courage to try to tell us all the truth about who our true enemies are.

A few decades ago, the time was right for enlightened people to begin crusades for civil rights for oppressed people -- including women on our planet. This was a justifiable threat to patriarchy, organized patriarchal religions and capitalism. Power does not surrender easily, however, and we have faced long and harsh battles over their defeated concepts.

War is one of the lingering concepts of domination of one's own people -- and other nations. We thought WWII was the end of it -- and by all means then Vietnam was the end of it. Yet, the "Vietnam Syndrome" has been overcome by those dedicated to war and profiteering who have frightened America into believing myth and surrendering their Bill of Rights.

The fight for freedom never ends; it cannot. We are simply at another phase of this struggle.

One of our most taboo subjects is male violence. As we can see from this thread, it is not to be examined; only denied.

Patriarchy and capitalism are suicidal.
Even if this were the last kick of a dying mule, we are faced with the mortal damange done to life on our planet and to the planet itself.

Thank you, Cindy --
Anxiously await your campaign --
and as America continues to be shocked almost daily by new truths of lies and corruption within this administration, I can only hope that soon we will be moving towards the impeachment of Bush/Cheney.

Medic: Thank you. That was beautiful and so well said.

Cindy: Thank you, as always. You are now beginning to form and carry the larger vision for us. Just as John was a beacon in his time, you may be one of the many to carry that light in this time.

COMarc: Letting that weight drop away doesn't take a special group or place. It's more a state of mind for me. I really like what Ken Gou....said. For me it's kind of been a matter of just letting go of the fear itself and not caring too much about stuff. I think I'm about the same age as you, but probably not as evolved or experienced. All I know is that as I've gotten older, I just trust that most people are not out to hurt me. That attitude seems to be infectious in a way. I have to admit, though, that I don't travel much, but I'd keep my eye on that bag! Or better yet, I wouldn't carry a bag at all. Or not put anything in it that I wouldn't care if somebody else "borrowed" it. Or, maybe, ask the person in the next seat to keep an eye on it while I went and talked to other folks. I'm rambling now....Peace is such a hard concept to get my brain around in a way that can be articulated. And I still want EVERYONE in this administration impeached and sent off to the Hague!! That's probably not to peaceful, huh?....

"I saw ten thousand talkers whose tongues were all broken"

shout out proud,"we believe-george must leave !"

Here it goes again

I have stated this idea many times - and will do so again in the hopes of it being noticed and getting some traction. As we know - any meaningful form of protest is blacked out by the media - the latest example being September 15th- the fact that hundreds of thousands have been showing up regularly since 2002 to protest the war and all its accoutrements (such as the patriot act etc) is simply blacked out by the mainstream media.
Despite committed organizations such as moveon.org, code pink etc - we find ourselves more under siege and laws are twisted and stretched to interpret any dissent as an excuse to taser or imprison US citizens whose roots are unquestionable. I beseech everyone and anyone out there - to do the only protest this country which is being engulfed by callous cannibalistic avarice can understand. The protest would require all Americans who wish to regain or at the very least send notice to the government that we are not with out a powerful weapon of dissent that is completely non-violent and completely legal.

That weapon would be the withdrawal of funds from the US banking system. If coordinated properly - this will cause so much distress in the credit and cash machinery of the country - that I am SURE the truth will be not only unveiled but enforced. What is that truth!! The truth that general US population (us) is going out and giving the government and its corporate accomplices funds to imprison us and have a double standard (one for the corporations and one for the common man)). So what can 'we' do about it- and how meaningful would this be!

The government requires bank to keep 0 percent (yes ZERO percent) to 3 percent on hand (reserves) - so a bank could loan up $100,000 with nothing in the vault as you get up there the number tops out at 10 percent – yes – only ten percent when you want to loan out millions!! This is TRUE!! See here: http://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/reservereq.htm#table1

This means that if we can concertedly remove a significant sum of money (say 100,000 people and associated organizations and unions (example teachers unions, nursing, UAW - members of code pink, move on, etc) we can unequivocally paralyze the 'assets' of this country (since the assets of this country is OUR money). For example say there were 2,000,000 people who could –on average- remove $10,000 from their checking/savings account that would be $20,000,000 billion dollars removed from the system which in actuality would be close to $ 1,800,000,000,000 (YES – its TRUE – 1.8 trillion dollars!!!) – since the banks multiply this number out by 90 when they loan it out- this is why Morgan Stanley, Citigroup etc are said to have assets in the trillions of dollars. The entire FICTION of how much money they have would be revealed in fell swoop and the US citizen is BACK in charge.
Like North Rock or any other bank – these 'deposits' are not counted as assets BUT liabilities (it's true –go ask your local bank branch manager) – while Loans – are called 'assets'. In short- since the bank will NEED cash – they MUST liquidate profitable loans (like mortgages/business loans) in order to have cash on hand for their other customers. This is WHY every financier is severely panicked when there is a run on the bank – as well as the government.

In my view - it is an incredibly powerful message and time is NOW - as can be witnessed by the Northern Rock, recent credit crisis, and liquidity crunch - the economy of many so called 'developed' countries is painfully over-extended by using the mortgages, mutual funds, stocks, pensions etc of millions of Americans - and then leveraging those to corrupt OUR REPRESENTATIVES. No wonder they don't pay attention to us and feel that they may imprison, silence and most importantly increasing reveal their contempt by not responding to their constituents' genuine concerns. Once and for all the truth will be revealed - as to who are the parasites and who must be the hosts. This is very similar to Socrates argument of the shepherd and the flock - if not for the flock the shepherd is destitute.

OK - so now - we are ACTUALLY starting the most democratic feedback system in the history of the world. Tomorrow - there is talk of accepting a 50 million dollar plea agreement for corporate fraud that the taxpayer gets soaked for -to the tune of 60 BILLION dollars!! This happens all the time in America - Enron, Tyco, Fannie Mae, and Sallie Mae, ALL the healthcare companies have been BUSTED on Medicare fraud in to the billions of dollars. So what happens - this coalition - removes not only savings- but 401Ks, votes for pension funds to be withdrawn - liquidates their stock portfolios - and - the next thing you know - there are 100 trillion dollars REMOVED from the system- again because the system is leverages out 90 times more than it has in it!! The funds won't go back in till corporate criminals actually PAY the PRICE for white collar crime - !!

So once again - please someone and anyone spread this around - because I am convinced that we can remove at least 10 billion from the system (which with fractional reserve LENDING - equals close to 1 trillion dollars in assets and then if you add in the hedge funds who borrow against that as well as brokerage - we are talking close to 10 trillion dollars!!!! This silent, legal coordinated protest will surely let the politicians and corporations know that we are a financially literate populace in addition to a humane, educated and concerned one.

COMarc:

lived in silicon valley in the late 60'..
missed the whole trip..
wife children and all..

was a groupie hippie
long hair and such,
but caught the fever
in my visits to berkley and the haight..

came of age while living in europe
in the early 70's
learned something that has stayed
a while

should we not be able to trust
our fellow human
then we can never trust ourselves..

as far as goodies
i like the ones i have
but
should another borrow them
i say
wished you would have asked
the goodie is yours
ya know..

your post made me think awhile
about how much i love
living this way

thanks
ken

Cindy,

It's all about the blessed buck. A friend of mine, now deceased, used to say: Human life is the cheapest commodity.

"Till the pain is so big you feel nothing at all"

The human cost of war alone makes it self-evident that we must renounce war.

Movement for the Renunciation of War.

I renounce war, and I will never support or sanction another war.

Signed: _____________________
Dated: __________

Confidential Agent (1945)

Brief Synopsis:
A Spanish spy and an American heiress battle fascists in England.

http://www.tcmdb.com/title/title.jsp?stid=1870

Help get this movie out on DVD. VOTE at
http://www.tcmdb.com/title/title.jsp?stid=1870

Dear Cindy,
Maybe you should start raising money to pay lawyers who will defend conscientious objectors who wish to desert.

There must be people who want out, but have no way to do it.
The army is actually a paid workforce. It is being abused by its employers. There are just on the face of it unequal pay standards for the Blackwater and other mercenaries.

Then there are the lack of adequate troop levels and supplies. etc. etc.

The troops need to be unionized. And they should retain the right to get out of contracts if they are not fair.

This idea would generate profit for lawyers, thus guaranteeing its viability.

If fighting against the war becomes as profitable as fighting for it, perhaps the whole thing can be brought to a standstill.

Sincerely,
e.

To imagine peace is to know the secret. BEcome what you want to see.

Cindy Sheehan is right again.

"Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals."

Martin Luther King, Jr.

vangelaras- I like your platform, and I believe a majority of people would support such a program. But it has to be bullet proof, because "THEY" will do everything in "THEIR" power to point our the flaws with your program. Remember "THEY" have all the power and are not going to give it up easily.

For starters I suggest you revise your thinking on Numbers 5 and 6. Nothing is "free"!
5. Free Single Payer Universal Health Care
Single payer health care is a great idea, but it is not "free", if health care could be free then we would not even need a single payer. So by using the term "free" on the front of Single Payer Health Care you provide the ability for opponents to point out a glaring contradiction and that gives "THEM" a wedge with which to invalidate your entire platform.

6. Free Public Education and affordable
Here you have contradicted yourself, is it Free or is it affordable? Again Public education is not free. Teachers have to be paid a good wage, buildings need to be built and maintained, books and materials need to be purchased for the classroom.

If you have not noticed the use of the term free when discussing public social services really pushes my buttons.

Nothing is free, but there is more than enough wealth to pay for all the public services the society requires available from the commonwealth. Income tax could be abolished if all those who use the resources of the commonwealth had to pay for the privilege of creating personal and corporate wealth by exploiting the resources of the commonwealth. The commonwealth consists of anything and everything that does not exist by the works of humans. The air, water, and land. The oil under the ground, the entire radio spectrum. It does not include things that are uniquely yours as an individual, like your labor, your creativity, your resourcefulness and intelligence.

The work of Henry George dealt with all of this quite nicely. Georgeist economics deals with all the problems currently being faced by humanity on this planet. Georgeist economics provides for a basic living standard for all members of society, provides for all the social programs necessary like universal health care and equal education for all, and it does it all without depriving each individual of their basic right to negotiate a reasonable wage for their labor, or design and build a better mouse trap, or use their creativity to create and sell art. And it does not penalize anyone for their ability to earn more money.

Check it out:http://www.henrygeorgefoundation.org/

Imagine banning chemical weapons, imagine banning biochemical weapons. How naive? Wait a moment we did it. Imagine having and arms treaty to get rid of nuclear weapons. How naive? Wait a moment we have one-the NPT.
Any one stage in history someone who wanted to ban capital punishment for adultery would have been considered naive. Imagine Giuliani in office OK with using nuclear weapons, Wait a moment its possible.
I have a dream the President announces:

'We have decided to retreat from our previous stance with Iran realizing that it is counterproductive. We have reappraised our relationship with the country and regret the interference with the government of Mossedeq, our support for the Shah and the suffering under his rule and our support for Hussein during the Iraq-Iran war.
We regret the loss of so many thousands of lives. We also apologize unequivocally for shooting down the Iranian passenger jet.
We recognize how this can be interpreted as a terrorist act, indeed our previous foreign policy from your point of view must be considered to be extremely hostile.
We also understand in the light of this history why you might feel a little threatened by the United States and indeed in our recent threats to your country how you might be tempted to develop nuclear weapons as a deterrent.
We understand that even with your abundance of oil it is wise to prepare for the future and indeed aim for carbon free alternative energy supplies.

In the light of all this in order to demonstrate that we seek peace and cooperation and wish to turn away from the pathway of war in solving international disputes and recognizing the threat posed by WMD we will recommence our obligations under the NPT and commence further disarmament.
In the first stage of this process we will destroy a further 6000 nuclear warheads of the remaining 16000 in our possession and plan when we receive a Russian response to remove the remaining 1000 in the following year aiming to move to a total ban on Nuclear weapons in 2 years.
Only in this way do we see a way forward for the human race.
We are also renouncing the first strike policy which we understand is a serious mistake and leads to the destabilization of international relations and nuclear proliferation.
I believe that this shows that the United States is a peace loving nation and a mature nation that can admit and learn from its mistakes'.
I also imagine the peace movement united in a single strong tsunami join me http://peacesource.net/
and spread the word.

Cindy, trust me when I say that no one despises sucking up more than I. But I gotta say that, paradoxically, even though you persistently visit issues fraught with pain, woe, and the apocalyptic evils perpetrated by the War Criminal-in-Chief and his depraved minions, you are always a joy to read.

Thanks for putting me on to the Imagine Peace site; as a citizen of Nutopia,
[ http://joinnutopia.com/ ], I have a civic duty to contribute! ;)

Keep up the good work. I look forward to your next dispatch and continue to wish you all the best.

I believe in what you are doing in most scenarios and of course am totally against this war.
However,
this war is only a distraction now for the Reflublicans and the Executive Branch of our government.
The ONLY WAY we are going to change our direction is to get the "bull out of the china shop" and call for IMPEACHMENT NOW!!!!
Signing statements WILL CONTINUE to make any legislation only what GWB wants it to be so Congress IS ineffectual until THEY get BUSH AND CHENEY out of office.
Promote it now and you will have more support than you ever dreamed for ending this war and stopping one with Iran. The WAR, the THREAT of another, and VETOES are unfortunately ways for Bush and Cheney to keep us preoccupied and from doing what needs to be done.
IMPEACHMENT NOW IS THE WAY OUT SO ALL THOSE RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT UNDERSTAND BEFORE THEY ARE ELECTED, THAT THEY TOO ARE STILL ACCOUNTABLE TO THE PEOPLE, NOT THEMSELVES OR SOME IMAGINED GOD.
James Mcmillin
Louisville, KY.

WOULD YOU LIKE A PROGRAM CONTAINING PLATFORMS SUCH AS THE FOLLOWING?

1. Out of Iraq - No war with Iran
2. Defense of the Constitution
3. Drastic Cut of Military budget
4. Invite the Nations of the World to a confrence
for complete disarmament
5. Free Single Payer Universal Health Care
6. Free Public Education and affordable
7. Equitable Income Distribution and eradication
of poverty
8. Sustainable economic development
9. Close cooperation with the world for the
protection of planet Earth.

WE SHOULD KNOW BY NOW THAT DEMS OR REPUGS WILL NOT SUPPORT SUCH A PROGRAM . BUT THE MAJORITY OF THE WORKING PEOPLE, THE POOR, THE SHAKY MIDDLE CLASS,THE ETHNIC MINORITIES ETC,ETC. WOULD SUPPORT IT.

THERE YOU HAVE IT: UNITED UNDER A SET OF IMPORTANT PROGRAMS WE CAN FORM A PEOPLE'S MOVEMENT OF MAJORITY AND MARCH TO REVOLUTIONARY CHANGES.

IN SOLIDARITY
Vangelaras

DO YOU BELIEVE THAT THE MAJORITY OF THE PEOPLE WOULD SUPPORT SUCH A PROGRAM?

John Lennon suggests that you can free your mind from the nationalist and religious indoctrination and become a free agent that is capable of relating to and understanding almost any perspective. Imagine all the people being able to understand each other.

Juliann might attempt to free her mind from bigoted, ignorant, and dangerous ideas that testosterone and overpopulation are the sources of the world's problems. Beings with the capacities for reason and ethics are obligated to over-ride primal drives and use these capacities to build justice, peace and prosperity. Failures to do so manifest in various ways - apathy and active power abuse are two.

Cindy Sheehan has it right, as usual. She is up there with Kucinich and Nader in suitability for the Oval Office. Hormones have nothing to do with it. These people are using their capacities for reason and ethics. Voting third parties in US federal elections is a great way to use these capacities. Voting for the least worst fascist is not.

It is revolting and stupid to blame violence or war on "testosterone," and it is ignorant to claim that women are somehow more peaceful. No, world peace, in fact, is NOT something divisive where one group separated by biology, race, language, or ethnicity overcomes another.

But I sent a wish to the tower that the corporal punishment of all children would end in the world (like it ended in Iceland,) and that parents would communicate and interact with children nonviolently in a way that respects the children's rights and needs foremost. That will, after a few generations, bring about world peace.

http://www.dreamingearth.net

I can't believe the number of people here who get totally off subject.

As a proud member of the revolution .. years 1962 trough '84, I remember well the affect of this song on those of us who marched/ worked our butts off for peace/ change .... Too bad there is such a vast lack of revolutionaries today!!
It's all talk, talk, talk ... blog, blog, blog ... no work ... just talk!

Imagine, young people today working for peace ... wouldn't that be nice !

Thank you Cindy for all your work!!!

o.k.jakenewton,what do you advocate ?and what should we do ?are you waiting for jesus ?do you have a back-up, plan B ?

READ OCTOBER ISSUE OF HARPER'S MAGAZINE. EDITOR CALLS FOR NATIONAL STRIKE, Nov. 7, 2007.

When you see something in a comments section that you think is a good idea - always pass it on!

A national strike, even if only 5% participate, will bring things to a head. If successful, it would terrify the "powers that be," no doubt about it.

It's probably illegal to call for a strike such as this but perhaps the author had in mind to tease the "powers that be," make them squirm a little, just by the threat.

Calling for a strike and taking part in one are two different things, however. Can you be arrested for not shopping (other than bare necessities) in the month of November and December? Can you be fired for coming down with a virus on Nov. 7th? Can you be hit with rubber bullets or tasered for not holiday shopping? For staying home from work?

When we're talking about lasting peace, it's easy to become cynical. It's like trying to deal with depression in a "positive" way. But we have to start somewhere, and somewhere will get us to the next step. So how about NOW, in the years 2007-2008, come together.

on the other hand, there are a couple mom's out there that would lead us all into the abyss from what I've been able to gather. Like barb bush, she seems kind of hostile.

I know I'd do anything (live, die, try, breathe, think, feel, be both mortified and joyful and sorrowful in different stages and at different times) for my own mom!

It's the women of truth who will lead us out of the abyss as they always have throughout the ages.

Cindy, congradulations for your article.

Keep up your revolutionary perspective and lead the way a People's Movement for Real Change. There is no future in the decadent "two" party trap.

In solidarity
vangelaras

"yet she has never asked for any ivestigation into the whereabouts of billions of dollars of the taxpayers money,missing and just handed over to the pirate in the white house"

What!? They just handed billions of dollars to GWB? This is the first I have heard of this.

"we need to latch onto them as pit bulls and dont let go,"

Yeah! Tell us how it works out.

PS ... when I'm off with the hippies in our little peaceful group, there's lots of men with lots of testosterone around. Doesn't make a lick of difference. Its the attitude that counts. You should let people blame their bad attitude on anything other than their bad attitude, and you shouldn't blame other people's bad attitude and behaviour on anything other than their bad attitude and behavior. If you have beliefs like its all the fault of 'men', or of 'women', then you are far lost from where you need to be. And if you open your eyes and look around there are lots of examples to prove to you what bad and sloppy thinking that is. Margaret Thatcher's kind and peaceful rule in the UK is simply one of the easiests to think of.

Wow ... Margaret Thatcher's problem was certainly testosterone!

Great piece Cindy. Or, Great Peace! Cindy!

People are doing this in small groups. I'm an old hippie, and the one thing I've always liked about the culture that exists when us hippies get away from the rest of this crazy world is the atmosphere of peace.

Its a truly amazing experience to walk in a world where you can feel you can trust the people around you not to harm you. A lot of defensiveness we all carry around every day just fades away as you relax and get used to a world where you can trust the people around you.

A small example. While sitting in the surealistic zone that's the Las Vegas airport, Cindy probably had a bag of travel stuff with her. She was probably keeping it close, and keeping an eye on it. Because in our 'reality', if you leave a bag with something valuable in it unwatched, there's a decent possibility that someone will come steal it from you.

But in a peaceful world, when people actually care about the people around them and won't do harm to them, you don't need to watch that bag so closely. You can get up, leave the bag sitting where it is and walk over and talk to someone. You don't have to be looking back at your bag to make sure no one is messing with it. You just go have a lovely conversation with someone, and when you go back to where you were sitting your bag is still there. When you realize this, there's a tension that drops away. That constant tension of having to defend against theft can relax. It probably can't go all the way to zero, but it can definitely be relaxed from the level you'd keep it at in a seriously every-person-for-themselves zone like the Las Vegas airport.

That's the key to me. Peace isn't the absence of conflict. Its something more where you know at the very deepest levels that you and everyone around you all understand and accept that we are all in this together and we all need to work together and help each other. Where a selfish act like theft is almost unthinkable as it violates the entire spirit of the society.

When you spend a few days in such a world, its amazing. It takes some time to relax and shed the defenses we all carry in our aggressive war-like world. But when you do relax and start to appreciate what it means to be in a world where everyone else can be expected to be kind to you, its a truly liberating and exhilarating time.

The sad thing is the number of people around who will instantly scream at you that this can't be possible and that we are all just dreamers for thinking about it. Sorry, I've been there. I've walked in such a world. Its wonderful and I want more of it.

Demerara says: "It is not true that the world is over populated but that is the propaganda of the war machine that supports constant wars in 3rd world countries. Humanity can exist in peace as most countries do in the world today. Yes, it might not be a rosy road to peace, especially for the war machine, but isn't it worth a try?"

Wow, with this kind of thinking we are indeed doomed. I mean just think for a minute. Throughout history wars are essential based on the needs of growing populations to find new resources to exploit. That was the basis of European expansionism, and look what that has done to the world. To deny that there are too many people in the world is just stupid, and will not solve anything. And what is this claptrap that most countries in the world today exist in peace? Are you getting your news from some new age psychedelic fantasy, or just listening to the voices in your own head?

BY NELSON PEERY

The America the world admired, studied and strove to emulate, was an America of vision and visionaries. Few remember the real-life Jefferson who amassed a fortune purchasing kidnapped Africans, enslaving them and cruelly working them to death. The Jefferson who gave the world the vision of a country where all are created equal and a government that derives its power from the people is immortal.

As America grew, the antagonism between its vision and its capitalist reality deepened. Thousands of citizens stepped forth to defend that vision from the slave owning, expansionists that sought to destroy it. Poverty, physical attacks and murder did not deter them.

One hundred fifty years of slander has not tarnished John Brown's vision of an America free from slavery and exploitation. That vision, the soul of Old John Brown, is still marching on.

Defying a world gripped by reaction and slavery, Abe Lincoln gave humanity the vision of a nation--not a country--a nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. This vision--stronger than embattled armies--rewrote the Constitution and became a beacon for the downtrodden of the earth.

During World War II, as the forces of fascism threatened to engulf all humanity, it was the vision of a "free New World" that sustained American soldiers fighting from Normandy to the Solomon Islands.

We have always been a nation of vision and visionaries. Vision has always rallied and sustained us during times of crisis. Vision has played a greater role in describing America than perhaps any other country.

Today our country, shorn of vision and its ability to dream, is known by its stockpile of nuclear arms, bullying of nations, and slaughter of the world's poor striving to be free. It is known for its greed and its state-sanctioned selfishness. We are seen as a nation where vision was slain by the sword.

What happened to our country? The dull and leaden mind of America is the harvest of anti-communism planted during the McCarthy era. It is the harvest of greed planted by President Reagan. As they planted their malignant crop, every lofty vision, condemned as communist, was forsaken. Equality for the minorities and women, peace and finally democracy itself, was branded "communist" and forbidden. There was nothing left save consumerism and greed. Reagan elevated this malignancy to the level of a national program. America lost its way as it lost its vision. Vision is a statement of where we are striving to go.

Clarity of vision by the people is the ultimate defense against misleaders. Any tyrant can take a nation that doesn't know where it is going down any path. Now, more than any time since WWII, our country desperately needs a clear vision.

Vision arises from material possibilities. We have, in the new electronic production, the possibility of doing away with stultifying toil forever. We can do away with poverty and privilege. We can create a world of love and peace. First, we must take these marvelous means of production away from those who use them only to create profit, poverty and privilege. We must convert them from private property to public property for the public welfare. If we do not, this concentration of wealth and power will be used to crush us.

America is dangerously close to following other great nations who, losing their way, stumbled into the ashbins of history. Perhaps Henry Miller was thinking of this moment when he warned, "The tragedy of Greece lies not in the destruction of a great culture, but in the abortion of a great vision."

The future is up to us.

pelosi was a poser....is a mole....will always be a phoney.....now she wants to tax us to pay for geo.'s war...and yet she has never asked for any ivestigation into the whereabouts of billions of dollars of the taxpayers money,missing and just handed over to the pirate in the white house..150 billion more...geo.mantra"its money to support our troops"is nonsense ,out of trillions of dollars,geo.flips a lousy stinking thin dime to our troops,every couple of years.as speaker of the house that suposedly represents the people...why isnt she trying to locate our money,instead of taxing us ?nancy and george are a tagwrestling tamdem team and they should have cocktails together in a nice padded room and a firing squad.yes,we can afford to bankroll billions of our dollars to steely-eyed blackhearted greedy merciless private killingcontractors,fueled by greed and power over life and death..we need to latch onto them as pit bulls and dont let go,until they are gone from iraq,america and no longer threaten the rest of the world...they are legs,eyes and ears and executors and never should they be immune from any laws..but pelosi swears we cannot afford national healthcare or a decent education for our own people.and she condones a president and cabinet that make up their own rules" okay i'll testify..but i wont take any oath and you cant have any proof or transcript of it"is unacceptable and should be considered a joke,never to be taken,seriously.my major problem with george bush is that i REALLY BELIEVE IT IS HIS HALF OF THE POPULATION THAT SHOULD LEAVE and others like him all the nefarious nabobs of the world...they are causing global warming !!they say they are the "architects"when they are in reality just the demolition crew.....

frank zappa said,"communism doesnt work because people like to own stuff.".......frank zappa also said,"the illusion of freedom will continue only as long as it is profitable,when it is no longer profitable,they will clear all the scenery from off of the stage,roll back the curtains and only then,will you see the brick wall." this is definitely a 'class'war(done with no class) and i believe it is entirely about population control.

Thank you Cindy. Bless your hippie heart.

Julian and Marikken are correct. Overpopulation deniers were not paying attention if they even watched "An Inconvenient Truth".

Testosterone the male aggression hormone is lacking in our pampered chickenhawk oligarchs so they fool their macho wannabe supporters by posturing more aggressively than thou.

Speaking of silly. It was a little joking around.
Sorry about that, straightening up, now where were we again? Ah, yes, too many people, too much stuff...Actually, I like stuff. I am very interested in stuff--especially the discarded resources of others I find at junk stores, flea markets and especially yard sales. Also, I have no qualms about picking through trash either and I even watch Ebay and craigslist. Capitalism in it's most noble form ;-).

Oops, joking around again. Not allowed, getting serious now, okay, buck up!

And, btw, did I mention that i am Italian? ;-)

A couple posters mention the notion of groups of people "going extinct." Pure sillyness and banal tribalism. Individually, each of us goes extinct on the day we die, and humanity changes just a little with each death. By this slow movement, and migration, humanity has changed a zillion times and will change a zillion more (if we're lucky) before it's through. Fearing "going extinct" is extremely shortsighted. A dozen generations and every current nation and group will be "extinct!" The United States of only two hundred years ago is nothing like the current beast (and Italy didn't even exist that far back). Two hundred more years and there will be at least as much change, and maybe more. Being fixed on "we're going extinct!" is absurd. Everybody's going extinct.

Thank you Cindy for holding Pelosi hands to the fire. I think this poem says it all, and why you are an inspiration against its message:

"The Trouble With Our State"
By Daniel Berrigan

The trouble with our state
was not civil disobedience
which in any case was hesitant and rare.

Civil disobedience was rare as kidney stone
No, rarer; it was disappearing like immigrant's disease.

You've heard of a war on cancer?
There is no war like the plague of media
There is no war like routine
There is no war like 3 square meals
There is no war like a prevailing wind.

It flows softly; whispers
don't rock the boat!
The sails obey, the ship of state rolls on.

The trouble with our state
–we learned only afterward
when the dead resembled the living who resembled the dead
and civil virtue shone like paint on tin
and tin citizens and tin soldiers marched to the common whip

–our trouble
the trouble with our state
with our state of soul
our state of siege–
was
Civil
Obedience.

Ask the Italians is there is an overpopulation problem. I think they have zero population growth. Actually, I think they are losing population. They have negative population growth. I think they are disappearing from the face of the earth. Becoming extinct! ;-)

Yes, the world most certainly is over populated. Saying the world is over populated does not condone war or killing but it suggests we need to think about how we will feed all these people? The oceans are increasingly "fished out". Fishermen come in with smaller and smaller catches (I live in a fishing area). We are industrializing every kind of agriculture we can and we still don't keep up with demand. In the meantime, Conservatives are trying to take away birth control and sex education.
Testosterone is a problem. The vast majority of violent crimes are committed by men. I'm not trying to say all men are bad, I love my husband and I like men in general. The problem is we have allowed society to become completely patriarchal, there is no Goddess to compliment and offset the God. Balance is the key, and we have no balance in society. Women have been demeaned and trampled over for centuries upon centuries instead of being treated as an essential half to the whole. Until such time as this happens, things will continue as they have for centuries...

Juliann,
It is not true that the world is over populated but that is the propaganda of the war machine that supports constant wars in 3rd world countries. Humanity can exist in peace as most countries do in the world today. Yes, it might not be a rosy road to peace, especially for the war machine, but isn't it worth a try?

Thanks Cindy!

I would agree that the testosterone malady is a concern.
Hillary Clinton has a serious case of it.

On the other hand, Ms Nancy Pelosi is a cowering girl.

"The biggest problem on our planet is TESTOSTERONE."

How blatantly sexist, hateful, and bigoted of you.

Dear Cindy Sheehan,

Whenever I read your articles I'm reminded of the Camus saying:

Au plus fort de l'hiver, j'ai compris qu'il existait en moi un invincible printemps.

In the dark of winter, I discovered in myself an invincible summer.

I wish you well and good luck.

ALOHA !!

Through Cindy's writings I watch her come to the realization that neither of the two party aristocracy(Dems or Reps)represents "We The People" ... She is seeing that our Founding Fathers gave us the documents that offer guidelines to "LESS" government not "MORE". All aspects of the US Constitution have now been attacked and modified until they have been rendered ineffective. The US Constitution has turned into the Bible. Hand it to any politician in DC and they will nit pick it and interpret it a thousand different ways til Sunday in order to mold it into their hidden or not so hidden agendas.

Juliann ... We certainly could use less testorone and less people but more than that we could use a lot "LESS" BIG GOVERNMENT in our lives. Perhaps even some "honest money" so that the corruption is not so rampant!

Maybe Las Vegas slot machines would not be so prolific if people thought they could actually survive on what they earn. Remember it is not the US government that "earns" anything in terms of wealth production. The US government is a parasite like all governments that tax its citizens. The US government steals the money of its people in order to fund their egos and their visions of that other "P" word ... not PEACE but POWER !!! Thats really what kills kids like Casey Sheehan ... powerful mens egos and their desires to become ever more powerful men!

GOVERNMENT IS ONLY AS HONEST AS ITS MONEY ...

Juliann - it's not naive - it's already happening in small pockets around the world. Palestinians and Israelis have several organizations where they coexist and cooperate. I have been reading about a small community in Norway where immigrants from 35 different countries, including ethnic Norwegians, not only coexist, but actively participate in community activities with each other. (I'm planning to move there...). If small groups of people can do it, then we are capable of doing it on a larger scale too. We just have to get the power away from the destructive forces who seem to have lost their minds first.

Thank you Cindy!

So beautifully and accurately put, Cindy. Even though I'm a practising Anglican and a server in my church, I'm first and foremost a SPIRITUAL person. I take my God as I find him, and NOT as others have told me to seek him.

To me, loveless Christianity is as meaningless as a car without motor oil - making lots of noise, but going nowhere.

Thanks Cindy,
It is amazing how much music has kept the dream alive!

People will call you "naive" and the peace movement is so divided and yelling at each other because we argue about each little difference of opinion it seems that we will never get to the goal of Human Harmony...I think you know what you are up against and if we are naive ...well that is what they called us when we were resisting the other Wars too.

Love, Jim

I won't go into the obligatory humble prefacing of "I really respect you Cindy but..." I'll just cut to the chase.

Don't be so naive. It's never going to happen. The biggest problem on our planet is overPOPULATION. People will always believe they need more and more crap until their lives are clogged with plastic stuff. What we need to do is reduce the number of PEOPLE. Reduction in crap will follow.

Wait. I have to correct myself. The biggest problem on our planet is TESTOSTERONE.

Now we return to regular programming.

Hey Vern (now who used to say THAT?), I've taken my chill pill. It's hard to read emotions off of threads, and that fact means a lot of needless sort of e-fistfights over things that people probably, for the most part, agree on. No harm, no foul I hope. I'm actually quite a fan of the modern Italians (did my MA thesis on them, in fact). But, as much as I love them and some of the other nationalities abroad, when I hear them fretting over levelling out in population, I gotta shake my head. Then I go have some wine and pasta and forget the whole thing.

There was an article not long ago about how american's fear death.

Let us also contemplate on how those who have little to live for don't fear death.

There are those who are fearless enough to blow themselves up for an idealogical cause, which they consider to be greater than themselves.

The sun is going to eventually burn itself out, and we have some time before then to find an alternate home and a way to get there.

Perhaps we should focus on that effort and screw every other ideology.
Unless, of course, neither humanity or mankind are important to you.

The first comment on this thread mentioned Testosterone as being a cause of the world's problems. As if often the case, Science has an alternative opinion. LACK of the hormone testosterone has actually been proven to be an indicator of excessive agression. (I'd love to see Bush 43's test results!) Letting the low testosterone 'girlie men' run the planet is not working....that I will go with.

I do like the Overpopulation complaints. I can imagine a world without humans, I am not at all sure we are not a failed experiment. Perhaps two of us is just two too many.