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aipac
With Regards to the Christening of the USS Patrick Gallagher
Because we strongly believe, nay absolutely know, that the U.S. does not need another warship.
Aug 29, 2024
To Whom It May Concern:
Because I have twice visited the West Bank and know the personal stories of 40 year-old Palestinian men who were imprisoned as boys for simply yelling at Israeli soldiers—and beaten and dehumanized for months before being released without trial;
And because I now know that those horrific, forever haunting experiences were and remain commonplace for Palestinian youth and are symptomatic of a world where, “we (Israelis) believe they are worth more than they” (Palestinians);
And because by paying close attention to non-main-stream American and foreign media I know the horrific truth of Gaza;
And because I have a good sense that when thousands are killed under months of ceaseless bombing and thousands more remain buried under the rubble yet to be found, the crime rises beyond war to become, inarguably, a “genocide”;
And because I know of the influence of AIPAC and U.S. defense industry corporations on U.S. Congress members and, hence, on American foreign policy;
And because I know well that the siege of Gaza could not continue without U.S. cover and support;
And because, as not much more than an adolescent, as a consequence of the fiction fed me by a conventional education, I volunteered to go off to Vietnam;
And because I know that, as a consequence of that war of choice, two to three million Vietnamese were killed in defense of their country---and that 2-3 million others are institutionalized today unable to take care of themselves as 2nd and 3rd generation victims of Agent Orange;
And, because I also mourn the 58,281 Americans commemorated on “the wall”, lost in that war, generally, perhaps, believing the same fiction I had;
And because I know that millions, yes millions, of innocents have died in my lifetime, arguably victims of American wars of choice, endorsed and promoted by the American defense industry, in Grenada, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Panama, Somalia, Bosnia, Kosovo, Syria, Yemen, etc., (hardly an all-inclusive list);
And because I and others, on many occasions since the Berrigan brothers, in a Prince of Peace Plowshares action on February 12, 1997, have returned again and again to protest other
christenings” at Bath;
And because we strongly believe, nay absolutely know, that the U.S. does not need more warships, but rather that General Dynamics ought to be “converting” to the manufacture of “green” technologies.
It is for these reasons, in the spirit of the “Plowshares” movement, we chose to inconvenience the so-called “christening” attendees on July 27th—that they might give pause to consider the merits of our actions. That they too, might join us in a virtual revolution—to turn away from violence, to demand that our country do the same, to be a force for cooperation among the brotherhood of nations, rather than endorsing endless militarism.
For these reasons I chose to join like-minded fellow citizens in our efforts to make more widely known our nation’s reckless conduct. I proclaim my innocence and will be very pleased to have the opportunity to defend that position in court.
Not in my name!
Dud Hendrick
Deer Isle, Maine
USNA Graduate —1963
USAF Officer — 1963-1967
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'Very Bad Sign for Democracy': AIPAC Has Spent Over $100 Million on 2024 Elections
AIPAC's billionaire-funded super PAC has helped defeat two of the most vocal opponents of Israel's assault on the Gaza Strip.
Aug 28, 2024
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a powerful lobbying group widely known as AIPAC, has officially spent more than $100 million in the 2024 election cycle so far, pouring staggering sums into Democratic primary races in an effort to unseat progressive opponents of Israel's war on the Gaza Strip.
Citing new Federal Election Commission filings, Sludgereported Tuesday that AIPAC's political action committee had spent $44.8 million as of the end of last month, mostly on donations to political campaigns and party organizations. The United Democracy Project (UDP), AIPAC's super PAC, has spent $55.4 million so far, bringing AIPAC's total spending this cycle to just over $100 million—surpassing its reported spending target for 2024 races.
AIPAC money has already made a significant impact, helping a pair of pro-Israel Democrats defeat progressive Reps. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) and Cori Bush (D-Mo.)—two of Congress' most vocal critics of Israel's assault on Gaza—in recent primary contests.
"Supporting Palestinian rights is becoming so popular among American voters that pro-genocide groups have to spend over $100 million to hold on."
Sludge noted that UDP's financial support for Bowman's primary opponent, George Latimer, "set a record for spending by an outside group on a House election."
"A very bad sign for democracy that MAGA billionaires are spending this much money to shape our politics," the youth-led Sunrise Movementwrote in response to the new spending figures, referring to the Republican megadonors who have fueled spending by AIPAC-aligned groups.
Politicoreported in June that AIPAC has been "the biggest source of Republican money flowing into competitive Democratic primaries this year."
Sludge pointed out Tuesday that billionaire Jan Koum, the former WhatsApp CEO who helped bankroll Nikki Haley's failed presidential bid, is the top donor to AIPAC's super PAC.
"Other UDP donors in recent months have included the following: David Messer, CEO of Freepoint Commodities, who gave another $250,000 on July 1; Martin Geller, CEO of financial firm Geller & Company, who gave an additional $268,000 on June 25; and Frank Blair, equity portfolio manager at Capital Group, who gave an additional $200,000 in May," Sludge reported.
While lamenting the outsized influence that UDP and other billionaire-funded groups are able to wield in the U.S. political system, some observers have argued that AIPAC's aggressive spending is a sign of desperation in the face of growing public opposition to Israel's mass atrocities in Gaza. A majority of Democratic voters view Israel's war on Gaza as genocide, according to one recent survey.
"Supporting Palestinian rights is becoming so popular among American voters that pro-genocide groups have to spend over $100 million to hold on," said Beth Miller, policy director at Jewish Voice for Peace.
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'Turning Into the Super PAC Election': Outside Spending Tops $1 Billion for 2024
"Outside group spending this year is almost double the rate of any prior year," noted one critic. "Not a good thing."
Aug 16, 2024
Empowered by the U.S. Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling allowing unlimited independent financial contributions to support political campaigns, outside spending during the current election cycle has hit a record $1 billion, according to a report published Thursday by the watchdog group OpenSecrets.
"Super PACs and other outside groups that can raise and spend unlimited sums of money have poured about $1.1 billion into 2024 federal elections as of August 15—nearly twice what similar groups spent over the same period in the 2020 presidential election cycle when independent expenditures hit an all-time record," OpenSecrets said.
"More than half of all outside spending during the 2024 cycle—about $585.8 million—has gone into the presidential election, which saw an especially expensive Republican presidential nominating contest," the group added.
"The largest spender, by far, is former President Donald Trump's flagship super PAC, Make America Great Again Inc.," the report notes. "To date, MAGA Inc. has spent about $125.1 million boosting Trump in the presidential election, including nearly $33.2 million attacking his GOP rivals and more than $65.6 million opposing President Joe Biden."
"Future Forward and American Bridge 21st Century, the first and second-largest Democratic hybrid PACs, have spent a combined $74.7 million on the presidential race as of August 15," the publication adds. "Both super PACs pivoted to supporting Vice President Kamala Harris after Biden suspended his campaign last month."
Other key findings in the report include:
- Americans for Prosperity (AFP) Action, a super PAC at the center of a network of conservative donors and activists led by billionaire Charles Koch, spent more than $31.2 million supporting former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley's failed GOP presidential run;
- After Haley's loss, AFP Action pivoted to congressional races, spending nearly $28 million on Republican candidates;
- The pro-cryptocurrency super PAC Fairshake and affiliated groups spent nearly $46 million in the 2024 electoral cycle, more than any other industry-affiliated organization; and
- United Democracy Project, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's super PAC, has spent more than $35 million on congressional races, most of it toward efforts to oust progressive lawmakers the group deems insufficiently supportive of Israel.
AIPAC—which vowed to spend $100 million on 2024 elections—played a key role in defeating Democratic Reps. Jamaal Bowman (N.Y.) and Cori Bush (Mo.) in recent primaries. The group has come under fire for attacking Black and brown members of Congress and for supporting Republicans who took part in Trump's attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.
In an effort to curb the flood of dark money and other outside spending, House Democrats led by Reps. Adam Schiff (Calif.), Pramila Jayapal (Wash.), Dean Phillips (Minn.), and Jim McGovern (Mass.) last year
proposed a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United.
" Citizens United was one of the most egregious enablers of special interest money, but it was only the latest in a long line of Supreme Court cases that opened the floodgates," Schiff's office said at the time. "To truly rein in dark money, we must amend our Constitution."
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