WASHINGTON – Sen. Bob Bennett said Wednesday that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld made mistakes in prosecuting the war in Iraq, but the Utah Republican would not answer directly whether he has confidence in the secretary.
Responding to a push by Democrats for a vote of no confidence in Rumsfeld, Bennett said, ”I can criticize some of the decisions that have been made, but the question arises, ‘Who would replace him?’ ”
I have a suggestion: My dog, Star.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged anti-war, government corruption, iraq, military industrial complex, peace, politics
In today’s article, An Army Minus One on Common Dreams, it’s been announced that Army Specialist Mark Wilkerson has turned himself in to Fort Hood in Texas, after being AWOL (Absent Without Leave) for more than 18 months.
Initially supportive of the Iraq War, Wilkerson realized over time that the war was wrong and that he could not bring himself to kill and developed an inner urging to not go back with his company’s second deployment.
Wilkerson is one of hundreds of U.S. Soldiers who have refused to fight in Iraq and have claimed Conscientous Objector Status.
Cindy Sheehan has asked for more people to follow in Wilkerson’s footsteps. “Mark served one tour in Iraq and what he saw there changed him to such a degree that he couldn’t in good conscience return again. It shouldn’t be his duty to enter combat once again. He has already done what has been asked of him, and fulfilled his oath,” Sheehan said.
“There is a belief on the part of the soldier that they will be used carefully, and as a last resort only when all other means to resolve a conflict have been exhausted. Instead, soldiers are put into harm’s way without proper training and equipment, and for reasons we have come to find were fraudulent. The social contract between the U.S. government and our society and the solider who serves has been broken,” she said.
(Each point is a link to information on how the Bush Administration fits it.)
1.) Powerful and Continuing Nationalism
2.) Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights
3.) Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause
4.) Supremacy of the Military
5.) Rampant Sexism
6.) Controlled Mass Media
7.) Obsession with National Security
8.) Religion and Government are Intertwined
9.) Corporate Power is Protected
10.) Labor Power is Suppressed
11.) Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts
12.) Obsession with Crime and Punishment
13.) Rampant Cronyism and Corruption
14.) Fraudulent Elections
This site’s homepage also has a link to Rocky Anderson’s speech on August 30th with this narrative:
Read the Transcript of Mayor’s speech that scared the GOP so badly that they ran an ad 20 times a day to paint him as a “cut & runner”. 9-1
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged anti-war, government corruption, military industrial complex, peace
The terrible three’s.
I heard yesterday that Condi Rice will be joined by Donald Rumsfeld on August 29th in SLC – they both will be addressed the American Legion that day. Bush is scheduled to arrive on August 30th, and according to a recent SL Tribune article, will be speaking on the 31st.
CodePink is thick in its “Troops Home Fast!” campaign. A number of people are fasting in front of the White House in Washington, D.C. in a project which began July 4. Here is what came into my email box:
It wasn’t easy scooping out ice cream for the homeless while on our fast!
There we saw the devastating financial costs of this war.
Diane Wilson, one of our long-term, water-only fasters, is committed to the “I Scream for the Homeless” project.
So every Friday we’ll be out on the streets dishing out ice cream to show the homeless that we love them and demonstrate our commitment to reversing our nation’s priorities from war to life-affirming efforts.
Please help us. Here’s how:
Donate your lunch money:
Fast for one day:
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged anti-war, government corruption, human needs, military industrial complex, peace
Yesterday I posted a piece on Bush’s visit to Utah for the American Legion Convention. Tonight was the initial planning meeting to decide what to do for this special occasion. It was nice to see new faces from a variety of policital arenas.
Most of the meeting was spent discussing the message to be presented in a rally. Initially I supported the single message of end the U.S. Occupation of the middle east, but at the same time went into the meeting with an open mind. After listening to many different veiwpoints, I have decided I like a more generic message to attract more people:
How Has Bush Let You Down?
With a slogan like this, everyone can come equipped with their own message.
The decision on the slogan has not been made by the group yet, but will be soon.
More to come……
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged anti-war, government corruption, military industrial complex, peace
Common Dreams has posted this piece by Juliana Lara Resende about the death toll of Iraqi Civilians and how the Pentagon is now coming out with figures, even though they have been saying they “don’t do body counts”.
Last year, Bush asserted that, “30,000, more or less, have died as a result of the initial incursion and the ongoing violence against Iraqis.”
In terms of population size, this would be equivalent to 570,000 U.S. citizens killed in the same period of time, noted the Jun. 25 LA Times article.
Iraq Body Count estimates an average of 36 violent deaths per day – about twice the amount of the first year of the invasion.
It’s kind of funny how the media picks up on things.
Last year I and Tom were part of the organizing committee that planned a tremendous program, which Tom emceed, to protest Bush’s appearance in SLC at the VFW convention. (see my account here)It took us only 5 days to develop a program and publicity that attracted over 3,000 people. Rocky Anderson was invited to be a speaker, which he accepted. It was a great program and Rocky was a tremendous part of that. Rocky got the credit for the rally, which was inaccurate, but that’s o.k.
When word got out yesterday that Bush and Condi Rice will be in town for the American Legion convention in August, members of the same committee stepped into action. We already have preliminary planning going on and meetings set up. Media folks contacted us almost immediately and some are in on our planning discussions.
So in today’s news:
One of the organizers of last year’s protest, Eileen McCabe-Olsen, said among the goals of this year’s protest is “to reach out to diverse constituencies to build support in this election year to pressure Congress to end the war in Iraq . . . and restrain this imperial presidency.”
Anderson said Friday he planned to meet with organizers of past protests. He foresees an anti-Bush alliance linking environmentalists, seniors, peace activists, health advocates and others.
The mayor said the United States has an opportunity for “building relations with nations around the world, to joining the world’s movement toward a non-fossil-fuel economy, to creating better, healthier, safer communities. They’re all unfortunately being ignored and undermined” by Bush.
Be assured that plans are in progress for a rally. I am part of this planning process for this event and will supply updates here as plans develop.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged anti-war, government corruption, iraq, military industrial complex, peace
Yesterday I participated in a “virutal hunger strike” in solidarity with the Troops Home Fast project. See photos of actions around the country.
Common Dreams posted an article last night about the fast at the White House which began yesterday. In the photo below is Father Louis Vitale. I crossed the line and was arrested with him at the Nevada Test site in May.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged anti-war, iraq, military industrial complex, peace, virutal hunger strike
This came across my email desk today:
Sir, No Sir!, a David Zeiger documentary film about the GI movement against the Vietnam War. Never before seen footage is included in the film and myths are dispelled about protestors during the era.
The Ruckus Society has produced a
flash presentation called “Punk Ass Crusade”, a great little piece geared towards counter-recruitment for young people and promotion for the “Sir, No Sir!” film.
This film is NOW being shown in Salt Lake City at the Tower Theater during these days and times:
(2:30), 7:00
(2:30) Fri – Sun Only, June 20 – July 2
———————————————————–
In other counter-recruitment news, grandmothers for peace were arrested at a military recruiting station in Phildelphia last week for being told they were “too old to enlist”.
Deanna Dee-Dee Taylor 