Saturday, February 03, 2007

THIS JUST IN! CONDI RICE IS UNDER DEEP TAN!

 
IN AN EXCLUSIVE INTERvIEW WITH BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIX MIX,
SECRETARY OF STATE AND ANGER CONDI RICE (WHO SAYS SHE'S GROWN ADDICTED TO SEEING HER OWN NAME AND HAS SUFFERED SERIOUS WITHDRAWAL AFTER HER RECENT MISSION TO THE MIDDLE EAST TO STOMP OUT PEACE DIDN'T PRODUCE NEARLY AS MUCH COPY AS SHE'D HOPED FOR) TELLS ALL.
 
ON MONDAY, THE BULLY BOY WILL ASK CONGRESS FOR ADDITIONAL MONIES FOR HIS ILLEGAL WAR IN IRAQ. BULLY BOY WILL ASK FOR $99.7 BILLION FOR 2007 AND $145 BILLION FOR 2008 (FOR BOTH IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN).
 
SECRETARY OF STATE AND ANGER GIGGLED. 
 
SO THESE REPORTERS POINTED OUT THAT ONE YEAR AFTER HURRICANE KATRINA DESTROYED THE GULF REGION, ONLY $110 BILLION DOLLARS WERE ALLOCATED FOR REBUIDLING, RECONSTRUCTION AND REPAIR.
 
SECRETARY RICE GIGGLED AGAIN. 
 
"WHAT'S YOUR POINT?" SHE ASKED.  "THAT WE WOULD RATHER SPEND MORE MONEY WIPING OUT PEOPLE OF COLOR THAN IN HELPING THEM?"
 
WHEN ASKED TO DEFINE "WE," SECRETARY RICE RESPONDED, "US.  THOSE OF US IN THE ADMINISTRATION."
 
IS SECRETARY RICE AWARE THAT SHE IS A PERSON OF A COLOR?
 
"SH!" HISSED SECRETARY RICE LOOKING AROUND NERVOUSLY.  "EVERYONE IN THE WHITE HOUSE THINKS I JUST HAVE A REALLY DEEP TAN!"
 
AND DO THEY EVER DOUBT THAT EXCUSE?
 
"SOMETIMES.  WHEN THAT HAPPENS, I TELL RACE JOKES.  I JUST PASSED ON A FEW TO JOE BIDEN."
 
 
 
Starting with Ehren Watada who became the first comissioned officer to publicly refuse to deploy to Iraq in June and now faces a court-martial in Fort Lewis, Washington on Monday.
Daisuke Wakabayashi (Reuters) says the case "could determine the limits of free-speech rights for officers."  Dean Paton (Christian Science Monitor) takes a look at the life that led up to the brave stand: "When it came time for Watada to enlist, he was diagnosed with asthma and declared physically unfit. He paid $800 to have an outside test done and was accepted into the Army's college-option program. He completed basic training in June 2003, and went to Officer Candidate School in South Carolina. He emerged 14 weeks later as a 2nd lieutenant." Ben Hamamoto (The Nichi Bei Times) reports on some of the activities Carolyn Ho has been taking part in to raise awareness of her son including suggesting people write letters to Congress, sign petitions (one is at Ehren Watada's site) and "post signs demanding that the military drop the charges and allow Watada to resign" because, Ho stated, "The way this resolves itself will speak to the soldiers and tell them whether or not they are being supported and it will speak to the politicians as to how we feel about the war (and soldiers' rights)."
 
Diane Kay (The Maine Campus) traces his life from college to speaking out: "Watada was a finance major, and graduated magna cum laude. The war in Iraq had just begun, and Watada, like many Americans, believed that Iraq posed a real threat to the United States, had WMDs and was connected to Sept. 11.  He entered the U.S. Army officer candidate program following graduation to pursue a career in the military. Watada served in Korea in 2003 and 2004, earned the rank of lieutenant, and received excellent reviews of his work by his superior officers. In 2005, Lt. Watada and his unit returned to the United States, and were stationed in Ft. Lewis, Wash. Lt. Watada knew that his unit would eventually be deployed to Iraq, and he began to study as much as he could to prepare himself and his unit for deployment."   This is where Ehren Watada starts to learn about the Bully Boy's lies of war.  He had been assigned to Iraq.  It was his duty (and superiors encouraged him in it) to study up so that he would be more effective and also able to answer questions from those serving under him (big one: "Why are we even here?").  It took the American people (many, not all) time to wake up to the lies of war and that didn't happen overnight.  (Nor did it happen via the media as Liza Featherstone laughably suggests in The Nation.  But then how would she know about the Downing Street Memos -- which The New York Review of Books, not The Nation, published.  Jessica Lee, of the Indypendent, covers what Featherstone can't or won't -- click here.)  What happened in the United States was activists and some journalists and publications pursued the topic (again, really not The Nation -- they had food issues and environmental issues and so much more to cover -- which is why they've never once written of the gang rape and murder of 14-year-old Abeer).  People carved out a space for it and certainly Cindy Sheehan took it up a notch. 
 
 
All that was needed for the lies to be exposed and the public to turn against the war.  Ehren Watada was not in the United States.  He was stationed in Korea.  And it's really important to remember that.  Many who've served in Iraq have seen the lies fall away before their eyes (which reality will do) but in terms of how the war was sold, don't think that troops serving overseas are getting the same media that those in the United States do.  In the lead up to his announcing his decision to his mother on January 1, 2006, he was cramming in three-plus years worth of information, reporting, critiques, etc.  Which is why Hatsue Katsura of
El Cerrito notes to The Contra Costa Times: "It was a gradual awareness and realization of facts about the war that were publicly disclosed over time. It became obvious our administration lacked reliable intelligence and was lying to justify an illegal and immoral war.
I respect and support Watada for his decision. By refusing to obey orders, he knew he'd probably face a jail sentence. But he responded to a higher calling to serve his fellow man as an American and a world citizen."
 
Or, as Ehren Watada asked Daisuke Wakabayashi, "When you have leaders that are unaccountable, who have already deceived people over something as serious as war and are willing to do it again, you have to ask yourself, 'where do you stand?'"  Or, as he explained to Judith Scherr (Berkeley Daily Planet), "I'm willing to go to prison for what I believe in. . . .
I've taken an oath to defend the constitution, I must be willing to sacrifice."
 
That sacrifice shouldn't involve sacrificing the truth of his story so possibly some might need to correct Tom Zeller Jr. (New York Times) who writes: "But Lieutenant Watada is no ordinary deserter, and he did not claim to be a conscientious objector."  Ehren Watada is "no oridinary deserter" -- in fact, he's no deserter of any kind.  Not since Zeller Jr. dismissed concerns over the Ohio vote immediately after the 2004 election has he seemed so out of touch with what he is supposed to be covering.  Watada isn't a deserter.  He refused to deploy.  That is not desertion.  He is not charged with desertion.  Since he refused deployment, he has reported to the base for work every day.  Zeller's fact-free approach to reporting made him a laughing stock in 2004 (all the more so with the recent Ohio convictions on voter fraud in the 2004 election) and he's obviously more concerned with maintaining that status.  So let's speak slowly for Zeller Jr.: Desertion follows AWOL.  AWOL is what most are charged with if they are gone for less than thirty days.  Watada is not charged with desertion because he never went AWOL.  He has been at Fort Lewis for every scheduled hour since he went public.  He is not a deserter and the fact-free approach of Zeller's is not reporting.  If the Junior Zeller is still confused, someone can refer him to the reporting of Andrew Buncombe (Independent of London): "When Lt Watada refused to go to Iraq last summer the army charged him with missing movement -- for failing to deploy -- as well as several counts of conduct unbecoming an officer."
 
Amnesty International has issued a press release entitled "USA: War objector's freedom of conscience must be respected" which notes: "'If found guilty, Amnesty International would consider Ehren Watada to be a prisoner of conscience and call for his immediate and unconditional release', said Susan Lee, Amnesty International's Americas Programme Director. 28-year-old Army Lieutenant Ehren Watada faces a possible four year prison sentence on charges of 'missing movement' -- due to his refusal to deploy to Iraq in June 2006 -- and of 'conduct unbecoming an officer' --- because of his public comments regarding his objections to the war in Iraq. Ehren Watada has stated that his refusal is based on his belief that the Iraq war is illegal and immoral. In a pre-court martial hearing held on 16 January, a military judge ruled that he could not base his defence on the legality of the war in Iraq."  As Amnesty International steps up to the plate and The Nation plays useless, is it any wonder that so many are starting to believe organizations are more worthy of their dollars than those in independent media who make themselves useless?
 
As noted, Watada will not be allowed to present a defense.  Lt. Col. 'Judge" Head will preside.  A military jury will render the verdict on the charges.  The hearing itself is expected to go rather quickly since the 'judge' has disallowed Watada's right to present a defense.  (The August Article 32 hearing went quickly, since witnesses like Ann Wright, Denis Halliday and Frances Boyle will not be allowed to testify for Watada this time, it's expected to be over in a couple of hours.)
 
Suzanne Goldenberg (Guardian of London) interviewed Watada who told her, "It was so shocking to me. I guess I had heard about WMD and that we made a terrible, terrible mistake.  Mistakes can happen but to think that it was deliberate and that a careful deception was done on the American people -- you just had to question who you are as a serviceman, as an American."
 
Saturday, Ehren Watada will be speaking:
 
Your last opportunity to hear from Lt. Watada         
in person prior to his military court martial!!     
Saturday, February 3, 7 PM          
University Temple United Methodist Church          
1415 NE 43rd Street,           
Seattle WA(next to the University Bookstore).          
$10 suggested donation for the event.         
No one will be turned away.           
 
In addition, his mother, Carolyn Ho, will be speaking Saturday in Little Tokyo (in Los Angeles) at an event Saturday organized by the Asian Emrican Veterans Organization (event starts with a meet up march at the intersection of San Pedro and Second at 4:00 pm)..
More information on all events can be found by clicking here.
 
Watada is a part of a movement of resistance with the military that includes others such as Agustin Aguayo (whose court-martial is currently set to begin on March 6th), Kyle Snyder, Darrell Anderson, Ivan Brobeck, Ricky Clousing, Aidan Delgado, Mark Wilkerson, Joshua Key, Camilo Meija, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Jeremy Hinzman, Corey Glass, Patrick Hart, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Katherine Jashinski, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell and Kevin Benderman. In total, thirty-eight US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
 
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at Center on Conscience & War, The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline, and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters.
 
Again, the court-martial beings Monday.  Courage to Resist lists actions taking place at Fort Lewis and elsewhere.  They note that the court-martial is open to the public (you need to get a visitors pass), will be held (at Fort Lewis base) in Building 2027 and that the proceedings are scheduled to begin at 9:00 am.
 
And Iraq Veterans Against the War are staging actions throughout the weekend:
 
Friday, February 2nd through Monday, February 5th, the day of Lt. Ehren Watada's court-martial, IVAW's Olympia Chapter and IVAW Deployed will be holding a series of events/fundraisers in order to raise awareness on the importance and details of Ehren's action, and subsequently, his court-martial. 
We will show up on the day of Ehren'' trial with a presence and message that cannot be ignored nor denied. Our message is simple: George W. Bush and those who choose to partake in war crimes are the people that should be on trial. Lt. Ehren Watada's argument is legitimate and should be adopted by all who might be given unlawful orders.
 
 

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Thursday, February 01, 2007

THIS JUST IN! AND THAT'S AS GOOD AS IT'S GOING TO GET, JOE!

 
JOE BIDEN MAY IT OFFICIAL YESTERDAY: EVEN THOUGH NO ONE WANTS HIM TO, HE IS RUNNING FOR THE DEMOCRATIC NOMINATION IN THE 2008 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN.
 
ALREADY HE'S DEMONSTRATED THAT HE INTENDS TO JUST BE 'BIDEN' HIS TIME AS HE WAITS TO TANK. 
 
YESTERDAY'S ANNOUNCEMENT WAS LOST IN THE STORM CREATED BY HIS GRAND DRAGON LIKE COMMENTS ABOUT BARACK OBAMA: "I MEAN, YOU GOT THE FIRST MAINSTREAM AFRICAN-AMERICAN WHO IS ARTICULATE AND BRIGHT AND CLEAN AND A NICE-LOOKING GUY.  I MEAN, THAT'S A STORYBOOK, MAN."
 
THE COMMENT READ LIKE HE'S LIFTED UP THE WHITE SHEET LONG ENOUGH TO TAKE A BONG HIT, MAN.
 
ALREADY SOME, SUCH AS CANDY PERFUME BOY, ARE HELPING TO GET OUT THE MESSAGE THAT IT WAS A "GOOD" THING -- AKIN TO BILL CLINTON TRYING TO PROVE HIS MANHOOD BY GETTING NASTY WITH A RAPPER.
 
MEANWHILE BIDEN INTENDS TO NEXT OFFER HIS THOUGHTS ON OTHER GROUPS.
"IT'S MY WAY OF REACHING OUT," HE EXPLAINED TO THESE REPORTERS.
 
 
 
In June of last year, Ehren Watada became the first commissioned officer to publicly refuse to deploy to Iraq.In four days, he faces a court-martial in Fort Lewis, Washington where, if convicted of all the charges, he could face four years in prison.  "You can jail the resisters but you can't jail the resistance," reminds Amy Goodman (Seattle Post-Intelligencer) before asking, of Watada and other war resisters, "Without Congress taking decisive action, these soldiers are left to fend for themselves.  How many must die, how many must be sent to prison or flee to Canada, before Congress ends this war?" 
 
Ehren Watada spoke at the South Puget Sound Community College in Washington yesterday.  Christian Hill (The Olympian) reports that Watada "was greeted as a hero" with the audience providing him "several times with standing ovations."  Hill reports: "Concluding his speech, Watada said that in the years ahead, Americans will look back and recognize 'the criminality of this current administration.' People then will ask who stood up against it, he said.  He ticked off a several names: Women in Black, the local chapter that holds weekly silent vigils in downtown Olympia, and Veterans for Peace, an anti-war group that has been a key supporter of Watada. 'And Ehren Watada,' someone in the audience yelled out."
 
The court-martial is scheduled for Monday.  Ehren Watada will not be able to present any defense, 'Judge' Head has ensured that will not happen.  Paul Rockwell (Baltimore Sun) notes that with "the outcome of the hearing Monday . . . all but pre-determined, Lieutenant Watada's attorneys are prepared for appeals.  Eventually, the Supreme Court may be called upon to reject the Machiavellian doctrine that 'in war, the laws are silent'."  Events will be taking place around the country and Courage to Resist has more information on that.
 
 
Watada is a part of a movement of resistance with the military that includes others such as Agustin Aguayo (whose court-martial is currently set to begin on March
6th), Kyle Snyder, Darrell Anderson, Ivan Brobeck, Ricky Clousing, Aidan Delgado, Mark Wilkerson, Joshua Key, Camilo Meija, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Jeremy Hinzman, Corey Glass, Patrick Hart, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Katherine Jashinski, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell and Kevin Benderman. In total, thirty-eight US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
 
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at Center on Conscience & War, The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline, and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters.
 
[. . .]
 
Finally, author, journalist, columinist, humorist and valued voice for democracy Molly Ivins passed away yesterday (1944-2007).  Ivins wrote for many publications over the years.  Of national magazines, she is most identified with The Progressive (most identified with by anyone with a functioning brain).  Matthew Rothschild remembers her twenty years of contributions with "Molly Ivins, In Memoriam" "She was, far and away, the readers' favorite.  Even my sister told me she read Molly first.  She was the favorite not only because of her humor and her style.  She was the favorite because she never lost hope in the promise of America."  Along with remembering Ivins, Rothschild also provides a cutting from some of her columns over the years.  Strange that the New York Times couldn't remember Ivins association with the magazine when one of the paper's columnists (Nicky K) distorted what Ivins said (apparently Nicky K only reads headlines -- how very Cokie Roberts of him).  "Enough of the D.C. Dems" (The Progressive) was one of the 2006 most popular columns in the magazine and online -- resulting in a huge outpouring to the magazine because readers recognized the honesty in the writing (a hallmark of Ivins' work).  Another magazine the mainstream media ignores in their write ups is Ms. magazine.  Ivins work was featured there as well (especially in 1988).  The Feminist Wire Daily notes Ivins' passing due to breast cancer and reminds: "In her last column, 'Stand Up Against the Surge,' Ivins urged Americans to be active in their opposition to the war in Iraq, writing, 'We are the people who run this country. We are the deciders. And every single day, every single one of us needs to step outside and take some action to help stop this war. Raise hell. Think of something to make the ridiculous look ridiculous.'" Margie Burns remembers Ivins here ("best way to praise her is to quote her writing"). Thomas P. Healy (CounterPunch) remembers asking her about the efforts to silence voices against the war and Ivins responded: "People asked me during the Iraq war if I was afraid to speak out.  I said no.  During World War I parades of patriots used to go around kicking dachshunds on the grounds that they were German dogs.  But you'll notice people like that never kick German Shepherds."  Anthony Zurcher, who edited her newspaper columns, notes: "Even as Molly fought her last battle with cancer, she continued to make public appearances.  When she was too weak to write, she dictated her final two columns.  Although her body was failing, she still had so much to say.  Last fall, before an audience at the Univiersity of Texas, her voice began as barely a whisper.  But as she went on, she drew strength from the standing-room-only crowd until, at the end of the hour, she was forecefully imploring the students to get involved and make a difference."  And on today's Democracy Now!, Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez offered Molly Ivins in her own words via a 2004 interview Goodman conducted with Ivins.  In response to Goodman's point that Republican pollster Frank Luntz had "advised Republicans to explain 'the policy of pre-emption and the war in Iraq' by recommending that 'no speech about....Iraq should begin without a reference to 9-11," Ivins noted:
:
 
Well that's it. You keep making that connection, and that's why something like 70% of the American people thought, when we went into Iraq, that Saddam Hussein was directly linked to 9/11. And the Bush people just made that connection over and over and over and over and over. And it's phony. I mean, it's just not there. The interesting thing to me about politics these days -- and that Luntz piece reminds me of it -- he was explaining how, for example, a Republican candidate would deal with working women. Now, you're going to be amazed, Amy. But by dint of a shrewd professional questioning in focus groups, Frank Luntz determined that what working mothers need most is more time in their lives. We were all so astonished to hear this. And so, what he suggests is the Republican candidates say to a group, you know, when he's campaigning, "Now, I'll bet I know what it is you ladies need most. I bet -- I think you need more free time." And the ladies will nod, and they'll raise their hands and agree, and you've bonded with them, and you've shown empathy toward their major problem in life.
Well, yeah, you've shown empathy toward their major problem in life, but look at the record. The record is, you cut programs to early childhood education, you cut Head Start, you cut after school, you cut K-12, you cut housing vouchers. You're going to change your overtime. They have done everything they can to make this poor woman's life more harried and frantic than ever. That's the record. But what we call politics now and what most political writers write about is the empathy and the bonding and the word choice and the horse rights, and it has nothing to do with what's really happening to people's lives.
 
Words some should especially pay close attention to.  Kat and Rebecca and Elaine have all written of Ivins recently.
 
RECOMMENDED: "Iraq snapshot"
 

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Wednesday, January 31, 2007

THIS JUST IN! IN THE MAINSTREAM THEY DANCE ON KNEE PADS

 
HOWARD KURTZ WAS OUTSIDE THE SCOOTER LIBBY TRIAL FUMING ABOUT JUDITH MILLER'S "METHODS," RORY O'CONNOR WAS RUSHING OFF TO WRITE ABOUT THEM, AND A LOT OF THE D.C. PRESS CORPS TRIED TO ACT UNINTERESTED SINCE WHAT JUDITH MILLER, OR MATT COOPER, DID WASN'T THAT UNUSUAL FOR A PRESS CORPS MORE INTERESTED IN 'ACCESS' THAN IN REPORTING, MORE INTERESTED IN SUCKING UP TO THE POWERFUL THAN IN INFORMING THE CITIZENS.
 
THESE REPORTERS REMEMBER A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF THAT FROM THIS WEEK.  BULLY BOY WANTED TO SELL HIS ESCALATION SO HE TOOK TO THE AIRWAVES LIKE ANY AGED STAR DESPERATE TO TURN THEIR SNOOZER INTO BOX OFFICE BOFFO.  BULLY BOY WAS EVERY WHERE BUT THE HOME SHOPPING NETWORK (KARL ROVE IS ALREADY AT WORK ON THAT OVERSIGHT.)  SO WHEN HE MADE TIME FOR LITTLE JUAN WILLIAMS, JUAN COULDN'T STOP SUCKING UP.
 
 
THE SENTENCE MADE NO LOGICAL SENSE -- IF YOU CAN'T SAY IT ENOUGH, WHY SAY IT? -- BUT IT WAS THE TYPICAL CRAP JUAN CHURNS OUT ALL THE TIME, 'MR. NICE GUY' AT LEAST AFTER HE SETTELED THE SEXUAL HARASSMENT COMPLAINTS AGAIN HIM (WHILE HE WAS WITH THE WASHINGTON POST).
 
WHAT IS SOMEONE FOUND GUILTY BY A COMPANY OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT DOING WORKING IN PUBLIC RADIO?  SUCKING UP TO THE POWERFUL, AVOIDING OFFENDING ANYONE, WRITING REALLY RACIST BOOKS AND GETTING APPLAUSE FROM UNEXPECTED AND SADDENING PLACES.
 
IT'S A STORY THAT CAN BE REPEATED OVER AND OVER.  BUT PLAY THE GAME, SUCK UP, AND EVERYONE ACTS LIKE IT NEVER HAPPENED. 
 
IT'S A DANCE MANY DO, IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER.  IN THE MAINSTREAM THEY DANCE ON KNEE PADS.
 
 
Starting with Ehren Watada who is the first commissioned officer to refuse to deploy to Iraq to serve in the illegal and immoral war.  He faces a court-martial this coming Monday (February 5th) and, if convicted on all charges, could serve a maximum of four years in prison.  Some are weighing in.
 
US Rep  Mike Honda (in the San Francisco Chronicle) notes that Watada's awakening to the lies of war is reflected in the similar awakenings a large number of citizens have had as time (more so than the press) has exposed Bully Boy's lies of war:
 
In facing charges of conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman, it is my belief that Ehren Watada has laid bare a fact that is becoming increasingly plain: Mr. Bush has handled this war in a manner unbecoming a United States president.     
At best, our president misled the nation on the rationale for going into Iraq. He has embroiled this great country in a cycle of brutality there that has grievously tarnished America's international reputation, has further destabilized an already precarious Middle East and has taken the lives of more than 3,000 American fathers, mothers, sons and daughters.  
Watada has risked being deemed guilty of breaking one law in furtherance of a higher, moral one, rather than participate in a fight that, in his and my view, needlessly sends our compatriots to their deaths. 
In Watada's own words: "To stop an illegal and unjust war, the soldiers and service members can choose to stop fighting it" (www.thankyoult.org, click on YouTube video).  
 
Noting the reduction of two counts which has allowed the maximum time Watada could spend, if convicted, in prison, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer observes:
 
We would prefer further reductions and no prison time for a conscientious refusal to serve in what Watada believes, right or wrong, is an illegal war in Iraq.
Military leaders have shown commendable flexibility in dealing with a variety of conscience- and belief-motivated requests to be excused from service. For instance, the Marine commandant, Gen. James Conway, last week granted conscientious-objector status to Pvt. Ronnie Tallman to allow the 21-year-old to pursue a newfound calling as a Navajo medicine man. Under Navajo spiritual law, Tallman could not serve in a special group of certified spiritual healers if he participated in any killing.
Actions like Conway's have given the military greater rather than lesser stature in the difficult circumstances of the Iraq war. Similar flexibility on policy at a higher level might save many Americans from the dangers of Iraq combat. Unless Congress insists, however, the Bush administration will stay the course.
 
Reporting on the rally in San Francisco, Judith Scherr (Berkeley Daily Planet) notes Carolyn Ho, mother of Ehren Watada, spoke: "He went in believing he was really trying to do his duty to his country in trying to preserve our freedoms.  He said to me at one point, 9/11 happened and I will never be the same again . . . But then my son, after doing the research and finding the facts realized that there were no weapons of mass destruction and that we entered a preemptive war on a lie.  That has to stop."  Carolyn Ho is on a speaking tour and the dates will be at the bottom of the snapshot.
 
Watada is a part of a movement of resistance with the military that includes others such as Agustin Aguayo (whose court-martial is currently set to begin on March
6th), Kyle Snyder, Darrell Anderson, Ivan Brobeck, Ricky Clousing, Aidan Delgado, Mark Wilkerson, Joshua Key, Camilo Meija, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Jeremy Hinzman, Corey Glass, Patrick Hart, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Katherine Jashinski, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell and Kevin Benderman. In total, thirty-eight US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
 
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at Center on Conscience & War, The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline, and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters.
 
[. . .]
 
Yesterday, Feingold used his power as the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee to hold a hearing entitled "Exercising Congress's Constitutional Power to End a War" where he concluded his opening remarks with this:
 
The answer should be clear. Since the President is adamant about pursuing his failed policies in Iraq, Congress has the duty to stand up and use its power to stop him. If Congress doesn't stop this war, it's not because it doesn't have the power. It's because it doesn't have the will.
 
At the end of yesterday's hearing, Feingold noted, "It is clear that this administration took the country into war on a fraudulent basis with the president insisting we had no other option
but to pre-emptively attack Iraq.  Now four years into the war we are still in Iraq, and the president insists that we have no other options but to stay --  with no end in sight and we have to say.  As long as this president goes unchecked by Congress our troops will remain needlessly at risk and our national security will be compromised.  Today we have heard convinciny testimony and analysis that Congress has the power to stop a war if it wants to.
[Applause, chants of "DO IT!"  DO IT!]  The president has no plan for ending our mission in Iraq, worse still, his Iraq centered policies have undercut our national security worldwide."
Feingold's plan for addressing the Iraq war is summarized in this fact sheet.
 
 
In other political news, CODEPINK continues to demand Congress represent the people. Amy Goodman (Democracy Now!) reported that the DC office of US Senator Hillary Clinton was occupied, that activists carried banner ("We want a woman for peace, not just a woman.") and six were arrested.  Yesterday's actions were part of a series of actions by CODEPINK following Saturday's protest and march in DC.  In a press release issued before Tuesday's actions, Jodie Evans explained, "We met with Hillary Clinton right before the war, begging her to oppose the invasion but she refused.  She gave Bush the green light to invade Iraq and now pretends she was against the war.  Worse yet, she still refuses to take a clear position to defund the war and bring the troops home."  Medea Benjamin explained, "We're tired of the lies, the obfuscations, the spin.  If Hillary wants to become president, she better start being a leader.  If she's in to win, she better stop the spin."  And Gale Murphy observed, "This country is hungry for leaders who will get us out of Iraq.  We'll be giving Hillary a chance to cut her web of war and join the majority of people in this country who want to bring the troops home."
 
Meanwhile Gold Star Families for Peace's Carlos Arredondo is in Times Square.  Reuters reports that he's gone to NYC with "a pick-up truck carrying an empty flag-draped coffin and a picture of his son's open casket and funeral."  Carlos Arredondo's son Alex died in Iraq on August 25, 2004.  Last Saturday, he was among the speakers in DC.  Arrendondo recognized the other families who had lost loved ones and noted, "This is the cost of war!"
 
 
RECOMMENDED: "Iraq snapshot"

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Tuesday, January 30, 2007

THIS JUST IN! 2008'S CHOICE IS CLEAR: RUSS FEINGOLD!

 
TODAY IN THE U.S. SENATE, RUSS FEINGOLD USED HIS POWER AS HEAD OF THE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE TO EXPLORE HOW CONGRESS CAN PUT THE "CHECK" AND "BALANCE" INTO CHECK & BALANCE.
 
WHY IS THIS SENATOR NOT RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT?
 
 

Opening Statement of U.S. Senator Russ Feingold
Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing
Exercising Congress’s Constitutional Power to End a War

January 30, 2007
Listen to Senator Feingold's Opening Statement
Good morning, and welcome to this hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee entitled "Exercising Congress's Constitutional Power to End a War." We are honored to have with us this morning a distinguished panel of legal scholars to share their views on this very important and timely issue.
I thank Chairman Leahy for allowing me to chair this hearing. Let me start by making a few opening remarks, then I will recognize Senator Specter for an opening statement, and then we will turn to our witnesses.
It is often said in this era of ubiquitous public opinion polls that the only poll that really matters is the one held on election day. On November 7, 2006, we had such a poll, and all across this country, the American people expressed their opinion on the war in Iraq in the most significant and meaningful way possible -- they voted. And with those votes, they sent a clear message that they disagree with this war and they want our involvement in it to stop.
The President has chosen to ignore that message. So it is up to Congress to act.
The Constitution gives Congress the explicit power "[to] declare War," "[t]o raise and support Armies," "[t]o provide and maintain a Navy," and "[t]o make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces." In addition, under Article I, "No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law." These are direct quotes from the Constitution of the United States. Yet to hear some in the Administration talk, it is as if these provisions were written in invisible ink. They were not. These powers are a clear and direct statement from the founders of our republic that Congress has authority to declare, to define, and ultimately, to end a war.
Our founders wisely kept the power to fund a war separate from the power to conduct a war. In their brilliant design of our system of government, Congress got the power of the purse, and the President got the power of the sword. As James Madison wrote, "Those who are to conduct a war cannot in the nature of things, be proper or safe judges, whether a war ought to be commenced, continued or concluded."
The President has made the wrong judgment about Iraq time and again, first by taking us into war on a fraudulent basis, then by keeping our brave troops in Iraq for nearly four years, and now by proceeding despite the opposition of the Congress and the American people to put 21,500 more American troops into harm's way.
If and when Congress acts on the will of the American people by ending our involvement in the Iraq war, Congress will be performing the role assigned it by the founding fathers -- defining the nature of our military commitments and acting as a check on a President whose policies are weakening our nation.
There is little doubt that decisive action from the Congress is needed. Despite the results of the election, and two months of study and supposed consultation -- during which experts and members of Congress from across the political spectrum argued for a new policy -- the President has decided to escalate the war. When asked whether he would persist in this policy despite congressional opposition, he replied: "Frankly, that's not their responsibility."
Last week Vice President Cheney was asked whether the non-binding resolution passed by the Foreign Relations Committee that will soon be considered by the full Senate would deter the President from escalating the war. He replied: "It's not going to stop us."
In the United States of America, the people are sovereign, not the President. It is Congress' responsibility to challenge an administration that persists in a war that is misguided and that the country opposes. We cannot simply wring our hands and complain about the Administration's policy. We cannot just pass resolutions saying "your policy is mistaken." And we can't stand idly by and tell ourselves that it's the President's job to fix the mess he made. It's our job to fix the mess, and if we don't do so we are abdicating our responsibilities.
Tomorrow, I will introduce legislation that will prohibit the use of funds to continue the deployment of U.S. forces in Iraq six months after enactment. By prohibiting funds after a specific deadline, Congress can force the President to bring our forces out of Iraq and out of harm's way.
This legislation will allow the President adequate time to redeploy our troops safely from Iraq, and it will make specific exceptions for a limited number of U.S. troops who must remain in Iraq to conduct targeted counter-terrorism and training missions and protect U.S. personnel. It will not hurt our troops in any way -- they will continue receiving their equipment, training and salaries. It will simply prevent the President from continuing to deploy them to Iraq. By passing this bill, we can finally focus on repairing our military and countering the full range of threats that we face around the world.
There is plenty of precedent for Congress exercising its constitutional authority to stop U.S. involvement in armed conflict.
In late December 1970, Congress prohibited the use of funds to finance the introduction of United States ground combat troops into Cambodia or to provide U.S. advisors to or for Cambodian military forces in Cambodia.
In late June 1973, Congress set a date to cut off funds for combat activities in South East Asia. The provision read, and I quote:
"None of the funds herein appropriated under this act may be expended to support directly or indirectly combat activities in or over Cambodia, Laos, North Vietnam, and South Vietnam by United States forces, and after August 15, 1973, no other funds heretofore appropriated under any other act may be expended for such purpose."
More recently, President Clinton signed into law language that prohibited funding after March 31, 1994, for military operations in Somalia, with certain limited exceptions. And in 1998, Congress passed legislation including a provision that prohibited funding for Bosnia after June 30, 1998, unless the President made certain assurances.
Our witnesses today are well aware of this history, and I look forward to hearing their analysis of it as they discuss Congress's power in this area. They are legal scholars, not military or foreign policy experts. We are here to find out from them not what Congress should do, but what Congress can do. Ultimately, it rests with Congress to decide whether to use its constitutional powers to end the war.
The answer should be clear. Since the President is adamant about pursuing his failed policies in Iraq, Congress has the duty to stand up and use its power to stop him. If Congress doesn't stop this war, it's not because it doesn't have the power. It's because it doesn't have the will.
 
BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIX MIX ENDORSE RUSS FEINGOLD FOR PRESIDENT IN 2008.  DRAFT FEINGOLD TO RUN FOR FOR PRESIDENT.
 
 
 
Last week, Ehren Watada, the first officer to publicly refuse to deploy to Iraq appeared on NPR's Fresh Air with his attorney Eric Seitz where they were interviewed by NO HELP TO ANYONE Terry Gross.  Gross cited the laughable Seattle Times editorial  and Watada's response was:
 
 
When we join the military we don't swear an oath to a person or, especially officers, in our oath we do not swear an oath of loyalty to any one person or any  group of people or even an institution.  We swear an oath to protect the Constitution and also the American people as a whole and we have to follow the rule of law as it says in the Constitution and when we have .  .  . When I joined the military in March 2003, I believed the administration when they said there were Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq, there were ties with Sadam to al Qaeda and 9-11.  We all know those lies were false now and there have been many reports coming out of retired CIA analysts and officers saying that the intelligence was not bad it was intentionally falsified to fit the policy.  When we have as I said a group of people in our government who mislead the public who mislead the other branch of government in order to justify their war that is a violation of the Constitution.  And, um, I just have to say that regardless of what they convict me on, if they convict me or sentence me, I am doing what I swore an oath to do when I joined the military 3 years ago and as I said I did not realize the extent of the deception that was waged upon us that I do now.
 
 
That was the first segment of the January 25 show.  The second is where she got into real trouble and there's a reason for that:  Terry Gross can find a man anywhere.  Her next book might need to be entitled Manhunt.  It's women she can't find.  And she's far from alone on that -- as of the February 5, 2007 issue of The Nation, for the magazine to offer women in equal number (equal, not more) there February 12, 2007 issue would have needed to print 37 pieces written or co-written by women and none by men.  The Nation ratio by gender is basically 1 female for every 4 males.  Gross specializes in her nerdy dominitrix pose on air -- full of tension and archness -- and it's a laughable bit but she's made it profitable.  What she has not done (appalling when you consider that NPR broke down barriers for women -- including Gross) is do her part to offer women an equal platform.  Appalling considering the history of NPR, more appalling considering the information she was seeking in the second segment of the show when she interviewed Eugene Fidell asking him questions about issues that he frequently hems and haws on.  If you're asking about the Law of Land Warfare, Gross, you can go to a woman.  Retired colonel Ann Wright taught that. 
 
NPR audiences were cheated out of a full discussion about Ehren Watada because Queen Bee Gross can have countless males on her show each week (several guests each day) but somehow more than two or three women send Gross into a panic.  It's harmful to all women and, in the case of Ehren Watada, it prevented Gross from being able to find the answers to her questions. 
 
Had Ann Wright been invited into the second segment (instead of one male 'expert') she could have stated, "As part of our overal military training there is a history of service personnel being told that you do not have to follow an illegal order.  It comes from the commissions that we take that we are to uphold the lawful orders of our superios.  Implicit in that is that if there is an illegal order you are under no obligation to follow it."  Wright served in the military, served in the US State Department and the quote is from what she testified to in the August Article 32 hearing. 
 
Ehren Watada faces a court-martial on February 5th (and got the Diane Sawyer "Aren't you ashamed!" treatment from Gross last week).  Though it never would have been the court-martial of Sarah Olson (despite where independent media put their emphasis in what passed for 'coverage'), she and Gregg Kakesako will not appear in court.  All the hand wringing was for nothing.  All the, "Phil, you've got to write about this!  We need you!" phone calls were a waste of time.  Already today Amy Goodman's interviewed Olson and no one ever needs to do so again.  Goodman made the mistake of asking a very basic question -- Now that she's not going to be asked to testify, will she be covering the court-martial?  It was too much for Olson -- she sputtered, she stammered, she had no answer.  The parody "Run, Olson! Run!"
never looked so true.
 
Ehren Watada was always the defendant in his court-martial -- even if that basic point couldn't be grasped by indy pundits.  The charges reduce the maxiumum number of years Watada could serve if he is punished in the court-martial -- from six years, it has now dropped to a maximum of four years in prison.  Eric Seitz, Watada's civilian attorney, told AP, of the kangaro court awaiting his client: "This is not a justice proceeding but a disciplinary proceeding.  Really, the only thing the Army is interested in here is what kind of punishment to mete, not whether Lieutenant Watada is guilty or innocent of the charges."
 
 
Watada is a part of a movement of resistance with the military that includes others such as Agustin Aguayo (whose court-martial is currently set to begin on March
6th), Kyle Snyder, Darrell Anderson, Ivan Brobeck, Ricky Clousing, Aidan Delgado, Mark Wilkerson, Joshua Key, Camilo Meija, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Jeremy Hinzman, Corey Glass, Patrick Hart, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Katherine Jashinski, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell and Kevin Benderman. In total, thirty-eight US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
 
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at Center on Conscience & War, The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline, and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters.
 
on Matt Lowell who was attempting to receive refugee status in Canada and has heard back from the Immigration and Refugee Board: "Eight pages long, it can be summed up in one word: No."  The article also notes a meeting this Thursday at 7:00 pm at the Tolpuddle housing co-op, common room, 380 Adelaide St. at King Street in London (Ottawa, not England) where you can meet with Iraq war resisters and those "offering support to military resisters."
 

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Monday, January 29, 2007

THIS JUST IN! TONY SNOWJOBS CONFESSES!

 
TODAY, WHITE HOUSE FLACK TONY SNOWJOB SPOKE FROM THE HEART AND NOW HE'S A MESS.
 
ASKED ABOUT LAST SATURDAY'S PROTESTS IN D.C. AT A WHITE HOUSE PRESS CONFERENCE, TONY SNOWJOB REPLIED, "IT'S NICE TO SEE JANE FONDA IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA AGAIN."
 
THE ASSUMPTION HAS BEEN THAT TONY SNOWJOBS WAS BEING CATTY.  ("MEOW" IS HOW ANNE KORNBLUT OF THE NEW YORK TIMES PUT IT AFTER WARDS.)  THAT IS NOT WHAT HAPPENED.
 
TONY SNOWJOBS CONTACTED THESE REPORTERS IN A FRANTIC STATE AND ASKED THAT WE MEET HIM AT THE RHINO BAR AND PUMPHOUSE. 
 
GREETING US LATER, TONY SNOWJOBS LED US TO A TABLE IN THE BACK AND QUICKLY EXPLAINED THIS WASN'T ABOUT HIM LOOKING STUPID.
 
"I KNOW SHE HAD A HIT MOVIE IN 2005," HE EXPLAINED FRANTICALLY, "I WAS 1ST IN LINE FOR MONSTER-IN-LAW.  I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE GEORGIA RULE."
 
KNOCKING BACK A SCOTCH, TONY SNOW DELCARED, "I AM A FONDA-HOLIC." 
 
HE QUICKLY WAVED TO THE BARTENDER FOR ANOTHER DRINK.
 
"WHEN I WAS 17," HE EXPLAINED NERVOUSLY, "I WAS IN A COVER BAND, WE PLAYED SONGS BY PINK FLOYD AND THE DOORS, I WAS THE DESIGNATED FLU PLAYER AND DID A MEAN SOLO ON 'LIGHT MY FIRE.'  WELL, I TOLD EVERYONE MY SHAG WAS BECAUSE I WANTED TO BE LIKE DAVID CASSIDY BUT REALLY I WAS COPYING JANE FONDA'S HAIR.  SHE'S BEEN A HUGE INFLUENCE ON MY LIFE."
 
TONY SNOWJOBS EXPLAINED THAT HE MET HIS WIFE DOING THE JANE FONDA WORKOUT AT THE LOCAL YMCA.  HIS WIFE-TO-BE COMPLIMENTED ON HIS HEAD BAND AND LEG WARMERS "AND JUST A FEW YEARS LATER, WE WERE MARRIED."
 
BUT WHAT HE ALWAYS WANTED, HE SAID, WAS TO MARRY JANE FONDA.
 
"IF I'D KNOWN SHE'D GET A DIVORCE FROM THAT [TOM] HAYDEN CHARACTER IN THE 90S, I NEVER WOULD HAVE GOTTEN MARRIED!"  TONY SNOWJOBS EXCLAIMED.
 
HE THEN BEGAN SOBBING WITH HIS HEAD ON THE TABLE OF HOW NOW HE'D MESSED EVERYTHING UP AND "JANE FONDA WILL NEVER WANT ME! NOW I'M JUST ANOTHER USELESS LOSER WITH AN INCESSANT CRACK ODOR THAT DIAL SOAP WON'T GET RID OF AND NO CHANCE IN THE WORLD AT EVER HAVING TRUE HAPPINESS!"
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Starting with news of Ehren Watada, Iraq war resister, the first commissioned officer to publicly refuse to deploy to Iraq who now faces a February 5th court-martial in Fort Lewis, Washington.  Speaking with Tina Chau (KGMB), Watada explained why he took his stand against the Iraq war: "I believed the justifications.  I believed they were true and factual and as we know now, they were grossly negligent and wrong. . . . Just being part of that [war] would be adding more fuel to the fire instead of putting it out."  Saturday, columnist  Joe Copeland (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)  covered  Watada and the reasons why he took his stand against the illegal and immoral war:  "His views changed as he read up on Iraq in preparation, as he put it, to be a better leader of troops under his command.  Instead, the growing knowledge led him to become the only commissioned officer known to refuse Iraq duty, acknowleding from the start that he might have to carry the imprisonment that the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and other practitioners of civil disobedience felt was their responsibility to accept in calling attention to wrongful government policy. In Watada's case, the prison time could be as much as six years."
 
Carolyn Jones (San Francisco Chronicle) reports that Sunday Ehren Watada's mother, Carolyn Ho, spoke in Chinatown to at least 200 people urging them to to support her son: "You celebrate the American dream.  You live it.  And that is what my son is fighting for now."  Megan notes that Carolyn Ho was interviewed Saturday by Kris Welch on KPFA's Saturday Morning Talkies. and that Carolyn Ho noted she is starting another speaking tour to raise awareness of her son that will run right up to the February 5th court-martial.  In addition actions are being planned around the country for February 5th -- click here for a list of demonstrations. Carolyn Ho's announced speaking dates:
 
Chicago, IL, 
Tuesday January 30, 
5:30pm 
Tentative Operation Push Chicago event
7:30pm
Japanese American Citizens League
5415 N. Clark, Chicago
 
Wednesday January 31
3:00 to 5:00pm
The Center for Race, Politics & Religion
University of Chicago
Chicago, IL
 
7:00-9:00pm
St. Xavier University
3700 West 103rd St. (103rd & Pulaski)
McGuire Hall
Professor Peter N. Kirstein (773) 298-3283
Kirstein@sxu.edu
Indiana
 
Thursday February 1
10:00 to 12:00am
Emerson High School
716 East 7th Avenue
Gary, Indiana
Carolyn McCrady (219) 938-1302
Jim Spicer (219) 938-9615
12:30 to 2:30pm
Purdue Calumet University
2200 169th St.
Hammond, Indiana
Professor Kathy Tobin
(219) 989-3192
tobin@calumet.purdue.edu
Classroom Office Building CLO 110
 
7:00-9:00 pm
Valparaiso University
U.S. Hwy 30 & Sturdy Rd
Room 234
Neils Science Center
Valparaiso, Indiana
Libby A’Hearn
Partners for Peace (student group)
(309) 834-2199
Libby.AHearn@valpo.edu
Lorri Cornett
Northwest Indiana Coalition Against the Iraq War
(219) 916-0449
la_cornett@yahoo.com
 
Friday February 2
Noon Purdue University
Wesley Foundation
435 West State St.
West Lafayette, Indiana
Sheila Rosenthal (765) 404-5489
Lafayette Area Peace Coalition
 
Watada is a part of a movement of resistance with the military that includes others such as Agustin Aguayo (whose court-martial is currently set to begin on March
6th),  Kyle Snyder, Darrell Anderson, Ivan Brobeck, Ricky Clousing, Aidan Delgado, Mark Wilkerson, Joshua Key, Camilo Meija, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Jeremy Hinzman, Corey Glass, Patrick Hart, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Katherine Jashinski, Chris Teske and Kevin Benderman. In total, thirty-eight US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
 
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at Center on Conscience & War, The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline, and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters.
 
On CBS' Sunday Morning, Rita Braver examined the issue of war resisters who go to Canada ("Estimates say there are between 200 and 250 of them") and interviewed Justin Colby and Dean Walcott as well as Vietnam war resister.  Colby explained how he signed up after 9--11 only to see his support for the war vanish after a serving a tour in Iraq: "When I realized these people we were killing -- 'cause we killed a lot, I saw a lot of dead people -- when I realized the people we were killing had nothing to do with 9/11, that's when I was, like, 'Okay, this is not for me!  This, ya know, I was wrong."  Dean Walcott spoke of how he felt there was nothing else he could do but self-check out after serving two tours of duty in Iraq and now focusing on "talking about it, raising the issue, getting it out there for people to debate about it."  After his first tour and before his second, Walcott was stationed at a hospital in Germany: "A lot of guys who skin was melted off.  A lot of guys who you couldn't recognize literally from their face to their feet.  Missing arms, missing legs, couldn't breate on their own, couldn't feed themselves.  These kids, literally kids -- 17, 18, 19, 20.  And this look in their eyes that -- Oh, I'm never gonna forget it.  The look in their eyes when they finally came to understand that they're never gonna walk again.  They're never gonna hold their wife and their children again.  And having them ask me, 'Why?'  Ya know -- a 'big-picture why.'  And I couldn't tell them."
 
Calling for an end to the illegal war, at least 500,000 people demonstrated in DC on Saturday.  Speakers included Iraq vets (such as Iraq Veterans Against the War's  Garrett Repperhagen), activists (Feminist Majority Foundation's Eleanor Smeal, Kim Gandy. president of NOW, Leslie Cagan of United for Peace and Justice, Jesse Jackson, Noura Erakat, Gold Star Families for Peace's Carlos Arredondo and others), and artists such as Jane Fonda, Eve Ensler, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins and Sean Penn. The link goes to today's Democracy Now! which covers the protest -- all but Ensler are included in the segment which can be read (transcript), listened to or watched.  The demonstration also included a message from US Senator Russ Feingold -- the closest anyone in the US Senate got to the rally.  US House members Maxine Waters, Lynn Woolsey and John Conyers spoke and US Rep and presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich spoke noting that "We are the peacemakers."  And it included Bob Watada (click here for Democracy Now!'s report feature Bob Watada, Maxine Waters, John Conyers, Lynn Woolsey and Jonathan Hutto). Bob Watada is Ehren Watada's father and while he and his wife Rosa Sakanishi spoke in DC, Ehren spoke in Seattle and his mother Carolyn Ho spoke in the Bay Area.
 
The most cited speech by participants we spoke to at the demonstration was Bob Watada.  As he declared, "We are a civilized nation, we need to bring an end to a war for blood oil" the crowd erupted in chants of "Say it!  Say it!"  He spoke of the importance of speaking out (and quoted Abraham Lincoln: "To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of men.") and he spoke of his son: "The military commanders want to punish him -- and punish him for saying the emperor has no clothes . . . The truth is a danger to the Bush empire."
 
RECOMMENDED: "Iraq snapshot"
 

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