Anwaar
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Speak the truth and keep on coming.
Posts: 463
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Post by Anwaar on Jan 25, 2008 2:43:20 GMT 4
Democrat Kucinich Quits White House Race Thursday January 24, 2008 10:16 PM, By JOE MILICIA, Associated Press Writer CLEVELAND (AP) - Democrat Dennis Kucinich is abandoning his second, long-shot bid for the White House as he faces a tough fight to hold onto his other job - U.S. congressman. In an interview with Cleveland's Plain Dealer, the six-term House member said he was quitting the race and would make a formal announcement on Friday. ``I will be announcing that I'm transiting out of the presidential campaign,'' Kucinich said. ``I'm making that announcement tomorrow about a new direction.'' Kucinich has received little support in his presidential bid; he got 1 percent of the vote in the New Hampshire primary and was shut out in the Iowa caucuses. He did have a devoted following. Kucinich, 61, is facing four challengers in the Democratic congressional primary March 4, and earlier this week he made an urgent appeal on his Web site for funds for his re-election. Rival Joe Cimperman has been critical of Kucinich for focusing too much time outside of his district while campaigning for president. His decision comes a month after his youngest brother, Perry Kucinich, was found dead. Kucinich said he will not endorse another Democrat in the primary. Kucinich brought the same sense of idealism to his second run for president as he did in his first bid. He said he was entering the race again because the Democratic Party wasn't pushing hard enough to end the Iraq war. Once dubbed the ``boy mayor'' of Cleveland, he made an unpopular decision to refuse to sell a publicly owned utility that pushed the city into default and drove him from office. After the city's financial troubles, the mayor faced death threats, and was forced to wear a bulletproof vest when he threw out the first ball at a Cleveland Indians game. He barely survived a recall vote. But he lost his bid for re-election as mayor of Cleveland in 1978 to Republican George Voinovich, who went on to become governor and then U.S. senator. His life and his political career were derailed. Kucinich spent more than a decade trying to get back into politics - traveling around the country and then working as a teacher, consultant and television news reporter. In 1994, Kucinich was elected state senator and he then won a seat in Congress in 1996. His once unpopular stand against the sale of the municipal electric system was praised as courageous. In 1998, the Cleveland City Council issued him a commendation for having the foresight to refuse to sell it. During his time in Congress, Kucinich has been one of the most outspoken liberals, opposing international trade agreements like the North America Free Trade Agreement and marching with protesters in Seattle during a meeting of the World Trade Organization. As a presidential candidate, he has proposed a Department of Peace, backed universal health care and supported gay marriage. He also pushed for impeachment of Vice President Dick Cheney. At a debate last October, Kucinich delivered one of the night's lighter moments when he confirmed seeing an unidentified flying object at the Washington state home of actress Shirley MacLaine. With a smile, he said he would open a campaign office in Roswell, N.M., home to many alleged UFO sightings. Kucinich married British citizen Elizabeth Harper, in 2005, ensuring his 2008 campaign would have one dramatic difference from his first campaign. Kucinich told New Hampshire audiences during the 2004 race that he was seeking a mate. Women then vied for a date with him during a contest arranged by a New Hampshire political Web site, but nothing romantic evolved from Kucinich's breakfast with the winner. Source : www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-7253860,00.html
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michelle
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I have broken any attachments I had to the Ascended Masters and their teachings; drains your chi!
Posts: 2,100
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Post by michelle on Jan 25, 2008 5:31:20 GMT 4
Kucinich abandons White House bid (January 24, 2008)rawstory.com/news/2007/Video_Kucinich_quits_presidential_race_0124.htmlDennis Kucinich has decided to drop out of the presidential race after disappointing single-digit showings in early primaries and caucuses. The Democratic congressman told his hometown newspaper the Cleveland Plain Dealer about his plans Thursday and said he plans a formal news conference Friday. The former Cleveland mayor says he wants to remain in the House, where he has called for the impeachment of Vice President Dick Cheney and plans to introduce articles of impeachment against President Bush prior to Monday's state of the union address. "I'm transitioning out of the presidential campaign," Kucinich said in a short video posted to the newspaper's Web site. Kucinich said he has a lengthy announcement planned for his news conference, which is scheduled for noon Friday in Cleveland. This video is from The Cleveland Plain Dealer, broadcast January 24, 2008. What's Your State of the Union? (January 24, 2008) www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-scher/whats-your-state-of-the-_b_83032.htmlPresident Bush delivers his seventh -- and mercifully, last -- State of the Union address on Monday. If it's going to be anything like the previous six, it will be loaded with misleading rhetoric that's completely detached from reality. For example, as I noted here before last year's State of the Union, Bush has repeatedly pledged to bring about energy independence and affordable health care for all. In reality, he has led a band of conservative obstructionists, well-financed by corporate interests, to block progress towards those goals.Why wait until he has the national megaphone all to himself to blast another round of distortions? Let's tell the real story of the State of the Union, now. At Campaign for America's Future, we've launched an effort to deliver the "pre-buttal" to Bush's State of the Union. We've taken the first step and released this video below, comparing last year's address with what's really happening to the foundations of our country. But that's just us. What's your story? How has the state of our union, under seven years of conservative misleadership, impacted you, your family and your community? At the new Campaign for America's Future website, you can share your story.
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michelle
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I have broken any attachments I had to the Ascended Masters and their teachings; drains your chi!
Posts: 2,100
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Post by michelle on Jan 25, 2008 21:19:20 GMT 4
On Dennis Kucinich...For the Record
We have not heard the last of Dennis. I, as well as many others, wait in anticipation for news of his plans to introduce articles of impeachment against President Bush prior to Monday's State of the Union Address. I will post this info as soon as I am able to.
In regard to the Guardian article posted above here, I am curious as to why they stated the following:"Kucinich has received little support in his presidential bid; he got 1 percent of the vote in the New Hampshire primary and was shut out in the Iowa caucuses. He did have a devoted following." When in fact he did have a devoted following....a very large one. He has beaten all the other democratic candidates by wide margins in internet polls which hundreds of thousands participated in as opposed to the few thousands involved in most corporate polls. As for the rest, Kucinch was continuously absent from any mainstream media reporting, was not questioned in early debates, and television networks went to great lengths to keep him out of televised presidential candidate debates [even though he qualified to participate] prior to state primaries where those who knew little of Kucinch could listen to his platform.
I most wonder why the Guardian would make a statement so aligned with our mainstream media reporting here in the US. Is the Guardian also duplicitous in their reporting, or do they not check facts before spitting them out?
All citizens of the U.S. and the world should seriously question why Kucinch has been rejected by the status quo. I strongly suggest you read Evelyn's most recent post: Re: PROTECT YOUR VOTE! « Reply #18 on Today at 7:40pm » -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- New Hampshire Sec. of State Appears to Lie to Media About Kucinich Hand Count Go To: tinyurl.com/22pb92 There is a storm brewing within the United States and her citizens. Too many have lost much, can't keep ahead, have no medical coverage, and a host of other immediate needs, not to mention the growing demand to get out of Iraq. Kucinich has been the only politician who has consistently pushed, not just at election time, for citizen's needs and world peace. He is remarkable. If he has decided to back out of the presidential race, it is not due to lack of support from informed voters. He has stated that he wishes to stay in the House of Representatives where he can continue to work for the American people AND introduce new articles of impeachment, this time against President Bush.
I concur with the journalist of, EVERYTHING POINTS TOWARD KUCINICH, [ stormglass.blog.com/2543266/ ] when he states the following on Dennis Kucinch:"He has wisely locked himself to this issue so that any move to impeach automatically shows who the first one to push for it really was. If you look closely there is a perfect storm brewing that will place Kucinich in the white house, if not now, then at some point in the future." "If it takes us four years then he will have enough momentum to challenge the incumbent, if it takes us eight years he will still be there, waiting patiently for the moment that his life has led up to - the moment when we all realize that he is not only electable, he is inevitable." For the record, I am also posting an article showing who people of color endorsed. It is not [SURPRISE!] who many might think......MichelleAMERICANS OF COLOR AND THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE: Black Agenda Report, MAPA, and Bill Cosby Weigh In[/b] By Meryl Ann Butler January 21, 2008 Martin Luther King Day offers an especially appropriate moment to look at which presidential candidate is favored by Americans of color. The Executive Editor of Black Agenda Report (B.A.R.), Glen Ford,[1] doesn’t give Barack Obama a free ticket for the color of his skin, saying, “What would Dr. King say, today, about the two quarreling corporate candidates, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton? There can be no doubt but that he would judge them as he did his former presidential ally, Lyndon Johnson …” Ford continues, citing that the Iraq War “is an attempt to prevent Iraqis from exercising control of their own land and resources, just as King believed the Americans were attempting to do in Vietnam. And the Iraq War, just like the Vietnam War, insures that the U.S. will never invest the necessary funds or energies to rebuild America's cities, restore the social safety net, or provide universal health care.” “Dr. King said the ‘triple evils’ of his day were militarism, racism, and economic exploitation” and that he was ‘compelled to see the war as an enemy of the poor.” B.A.R. Managing Editor Bruce Dixon notes that Obama’s “first act as a U.S. Senator was to refuse to stand with the Congressional Black Caucus and California Senator Barbara Boxer in opposition to Ohio's nullification of hundreds of thousands of black votes.” Dixon also listed some of the other candidate’s early senatorial activities: Obama “declined to ask any difficult, pointed or revealing questions of Condoleezza Rice and two of the president's disastrous Supreme Court nominees.” He “actually voted for two out of three of these.” He voted “for a bill that made it nearly impossible for ordinary people to sue giant corporations who rob, defraud, maim or kill, and another vote to renew the hated Patriot Act.” Dixon also points out that, “though Senator Obama now claims to oppose the war in Iraq, he remains an advocate of bombing Iran, to start yet another.” Ford suggests, “since the corporate media is totally incapable of covering or even tolerating the raising of any issues of substance, and because both Obama and Clinton avoid real issues, real facts, and real history like the plague, we urge that thinking voters put the candidates to the Martin Luther King Test. What would Dr. King do, if he were alive?” Ford says Obama and Hillary have already failed the test, “miserably”, and that “the only candidate who would pass the Martin Luther King Test is Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich, whose platform for peace, truly universal health care, a living wage, and an end to corporate domination of American life harkens back to that "shining moment" in the Sixties that King mentioned, when there were "hopes" and "new beginnings."When Bill Cosby was Larry King’s guest last October, Larry’s assumption that Bill would be supporting Obama met with a furled brow. “Do you ask white people that question?” Cosby bristled. “There’s a guy in Ohio that I happen to love … (he’s) running for president … Kucinich … I love what he says! … I love what he says, and—“ Larry King cut in with a break, and viewers never found out what was on the other side of Cosby’s “and.” But, clearly, Bill’s criteria are based on more than color. The Mexican American Political Association (MAPA)[2] also endorsed Dennis Kucinich, according to President Nativo V. Lopez. The endorsement for the organization’s Democratic Party Primary Presidential Candidate was announced on Jan. 18. The strongest Mexican-American political association in the U.S., MAPA is “dedicated to the constitutional and democratic principle of political freedom and representation for the Mexican and Hispanic people of the U.S.” It was founded in Fresno, California in 1960. MAPA ‘s 25,000 members across the country voted for delegates, who, in turn, selected their candidate. Lopez said, “We concurred that Dennis Kucinich is the most consistent candidate with the principles of MAPA and the interests of the Latino voters, workers, families, and youth, and of all American voters.
“Kucinich has consistently called for and demanded an end to the war against the sovereign people of Iraq and an immediate return of U.S. troops to their families;
“He has consistently fought for and advocated in favor of a single-payer not-for-profit healthcare system, which accords with the material and spiritual interests of all Americans, irrespective of any medical pre-conditions, age, immigration status, or income. Kucinich has clearly articulated that the U.S. healthcare system does not need the insurance companies as middlemen or moneymen as go between the medical professionals and the patients.
“This is the candidate who does not accept corporate contributions and steadfastly support public financing of elections as a way to rid the system of special money interests who buy and sell our politicians.
“Kucinich, the son of immigrants, has most consistently articulated a fair and humane option for immigration reform that accords with the interests of all American workers who have the right to protect their jobs, and also immigrants who are contributing to the wealth of America and therefore deserve to obtain legal status in a fair and judicious way. He has opposed the construction of border walls, unlike the other top tier candidates who voted in favor of constructing the wall along the Mexico-U.S. border.
“Kucinich has most astutely opposed the type of ‘free trade’ policies pursued by this and former administrations as detrimental to the U.S. economy and workers, and which result in the export of millions of jobs, and also result in undermining the economies of our neighbors, which in turn are forced to expel their workers as new migrants to the U.S. He has called for the repeal of NAFTA and has advocated for the prospect of fair trade”.
Lopez noted that according to its bylaws, MAPA, unlike other organizations, can endorse multiple candidates of the various political parties in both the primary and general elections, and also reserves the right to not endorse any candidate. In addition to Kucinich, it gave Cynthia McKinney their endorsement for both the Green Party presidential candidate and for the Peace and Freedom presidential candidate.
However, the organization did not extend endorsements to any of the Republican presidential primary candidates, “due to their anti-immigrant assaults and slants in platform and posture.” Nor were endorsements extended to Libertarian or American Independent candidates.Kucinich is the recipient of a number of peace-related awards. On Peace Sunday, Nov. 29, 2003, the Rev. Dr. Michael Beckwith and Dr. Rickie Byars-Beckwith presented Dennis Kucinich with a peace award at Agape Spiritual Center, Culver City, CA. In addition, Kucinich is the 2003 recipient of the Gandhi Peace Award, an annual award given for "contributions made in the promotion of international peace and good will." Past recipients include Eleanor Roosevelt, Dr. Linus C. Pauling, César Chávez and former U.N. Secretary General, U Thant. Photos of Dennis Kucinich are both by Robin Rae Swanson.
All photos are used with permission, or are in the public domain.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] www.blackagendareport.com/[2] www.mapa.orgAuthors Bio: Meryl Ann Butler is an artist, author and educator who counts First Lady Dolley Payne Todd Madison as well as two signers of the Articles of Confederation among her ancestors. Mary Ball, mother of George Washington is in the ancestral lineage of Butler’s great grandmother, Blanche Ball. Grateful to know that the blood of America's founding mothers and fathers runs in her veins, Butler has been newly filled with matriotism as a direct result of the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections. Lest she appear too uppity, it should be revealed that she also has family ties to James Butler Hickok, better known as Wild Bill. Butler has been actively engaged in utilizing the arts as stepping-stones toward joy-filled enlightenment for the past two decades. A native of NYC, her response to 9-11 was to pen an invitation to healing through creativity, entitled, "90-Minute Quilts: 15+ Projects You Can Stitch in an Afternoon" (Krause 2006). They don’t call quilts “comforters” for nothing! www.90minutequilts.com Butler was faculty advisor for "The Love for All Mankind/Anti-Apartheid Quilt" project at ENMU (1993), now in the collection of the Hon. Nelson Mandela. As Arts Advisor for the Center for Improving U.S.- Soviet Relations (CIUSSR) Baltimore, MD; her activities included the "First U.S.-Soviet Childrens’ Peace Quilt Exchange" (1987-88), an historic project chronicled in the media of both countries. Citizen diplomacy trips to the U.S.S.R. in 1987 and 1988 included lectures and presentations to fashion designers, craftspeople and artists in Odessa, Moscow, Kiev and St.Petersburg, in which she focused on the topic of creating global peace through international art exchanges. Butler is the proud mother of a daughter and seven stepchildren (all grown), and a passel o’ grand younguns. It is to these new generations that she dedicates her political activism. Source: www.opednews.com/articles/genera_meryl_an_080121_americans_of_color_a.htm
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michelle
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I have broken any attachments I had to the Ascended Masters and their teachings; drains your chi!
Posts: 2,100
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Post by michelle on Jan 28, 2008 4:55:47 GMT 4
Kucinich to Introduce Impeachment of Bush Before State of the Union January 28In a brazen show of courage, Congressman Kucinich took to the House Floor yesterday and called Bush and Cheney the liars that they are. "The President and Vice President lied and 4,000 of our soldiers died. The President and Vice President lied and a million innocent Iraqis died in a war that'll cost us two trillion dollars while people here in the states are losing their jobs, their health care, their homes, their dignity. Lies are weapons of mass destruction. Lies are also an impeachable offence. Monday, January 28th is the State of the Union. We already know the State of the Union, it's a lie."[/b] Dennis said his piece, then had to retract it. This clip also shows why Congress won't let C-SPAN control the cameras and microphones. I had to fast-forward to get it into 10 minutes. Thanks to peacecandidates.com for bringing this item to our attention View Video: www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19148.htm------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ What America Needs in 2008 If we are to heal the crises of war, violence, injustice, ecological devastation and extreme poverty in the United States and around the world, we need a new kind of political conversation.In our current political debates, it is taken for granted that our highest goals should be unlimited economic growth for the country and personal prosperity for individuals. Institutions, legislation, and social practices are evaluated according to how they serve these goals, how they maximize our material wealth and our power to protect it from those who would take it from us. This is the old Bottom Line. What counts in this culture is what can be counted, measured, and used to increase our material well-being. This deep assumption, which is present not only in our politics but in almost every aspect of our lives, has led to the triumph of greed, materialism, and selfishness. This me-first-ism plays out in our lives in destructive and painful ways and has contributed to the destruction of our environment and the acceleration of global climate change. We have lost our ability to value each other and the natural world as embodiments of the sacred, or, in secular terms, as inherently valuable and worthy. Instead we learn to see others, at best, in terms of how they can help us get ahead, and at worst, as competitors for everything from jobs to love to space on the overcrowded freeways. The price of material success, it seems, is a certain amount of alienation from others and from nature. Then, when that material success proves ultimately unsatisfying, we lack an alternate frame of meaning for our lives. The speed at which we feel we need to live, coupled with a materialist worldview, flattens our experience of the world. The media intensifies this with reality shows that glory in participants' backbiting and ruthless pursuit of their own interests. Elections are covered as a horse race in which we learn almost nothing about what the candidates really think about the issues, but only about who is leading in the polls or who has pulled what dirty trick on whom. Evening news shows flatten life further with scripted banter between the anchor-people, which reflects an inner deadness that we are supposed to accept as "real." Phoniness surrounds us and presents itself as the only reality. Those who wish for joy, celebration of the grandeur of the universe, loving connections with others, and a community of meaning and purpose often feel driven to the margins. Many people feel they have to keep to themselves how alienated they feel under our current political and social systems. It is no coincidence that depression, numbness, loneliness, and anxiety are rampant. We are suffering from a society-wide repression of what might be called the life force, God-energy, or Spirit. To address this deep spiritual crisis, we need a president and political leaders who are unashamed to talk and act from a commitment to a New Bottom Line of love, caring, kindness, compassion, generosity, environmental sanity, and awe and wonder at the grandeur of the universe. Our next president and our Senators and Representatives should encourage the recognition that there is enough, that we can afford to share, and that slowing down and acting from love, gratitude, awe, and wonder is actually more satisfying than the frenetic material consumption that is destroying our environment. We need leadership that can inspire the American people and the people of the world with that sensibility, and with the recognition that our own well-being depends on the well- being of everyone else on the planet and of the health of the planet itself. More than someone who is just charismatic, we need a leader who is committed to this New Bottom Line consciousness. We need a leadership that can challenge the fundamental assumption that domination of the world is a good way to achieve security, and instead advocate for a Strategy of Generosity, recognizing that it is through caring for other people around the world and eliminating their suffering that we are most likely to dry up the cesspools of despair, anger, and rage, from which terrorists are able to recruit their suicide bombers. The following questions may be useful in locating the right candidates for those leadership roles.
1. Resolving the War in Iraq: How would your Iraq politic foster reconciliation among Iraqis and show genuine concern for their well-being while bringing our own soldiers home quickly? The NSP proposes that all further war funding be focused exclusively on bringing home all troops. Would your policy accomplish that, or would it de facto leave tens of thousands of "advisors" or "pre-positioned forces" in Kurdistan or neighboring countries? How will you ensure that the rebuilding of Iraq is done in ways that best protect the interests of Shi'ites, Sunnis and Kurds, and how will you withstand the corporate pressure to maintain major control over Iraq's oil resources and oil profits? Would you issue a public apology to the people of Iraq on behalf of the American people for the damage we have inflicted in the past years? 2. Strong Families: How would you challenge the selfishness, materialism and "looking out for number one" in our economy and in our society that undermine loving family relationships? How would you seek to support loving, healthy families? 3. Environment: Will you develop proposals and policies to deepen people's connection to and appreciation of the earth, including making the fostering of such appreciation part of our public school curricula? Are you willing to propose plans that would limit over-consumption of the world's resources (water, food, energy sources and other aspects of the global commons) and protect them from ownership and exploitation for private profit? Can you imagine any way to use your elected position to begin to heal the crisis in meaning that has caused so many Americans to turn to consumerism and materialism to feed their hunger and fill the void created by selfishness and spiritual deadness? 4. Health Care: At a very basic level, Americans believe in taking care of each other and each other's families. Guaranteeing health care for everyone would be a beautiful way to manifest that caring as a nation, yet the profit-hungry healthcare industry inhibits our ability to do that. How would you help us make sure that every single American gets the health care he or she needs? Would you support efforts to direct our health care system to pay greater attention to the ways that people's emotional, mental, and spiritual well-being affect their physical health? 5. Education: Would you support legislation aimed at requiring schools to teach students to be socially, ethically, and ecologically responsible, and to develop students' capacities to care for others, as well as to teach academic skills? How would your plan help to foster the moral and spiritual sensitivity and imagination of the next generation rather than encouraging schools to focus exclusively on training students to do well on standardized tests? 6. Poverty and Homeland Security: The poverty suffered by so many people both here and around the world is a source of great pain and anger. Do you agree that a United States that demonstrates generosity and care toward the world would ultimately be safer and more secure than a United States that devotes its foreign policy exclusively to maintaining its status as "number one" in the world? We are advocating for a Strategy of Generosity as an alternative to our current Strategy of Domination. As part of this Strategy of Generosity, would you support a Global Marshall Plan to allocate 1-2% of our gross domestic product each year for the next twenty years to ending global and domestic poverty and inadequate health care and education and to healing the environment? Do you believe that this is the primary way to provide safety, or do you intend to fund new wars in Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan or other countries to continue a war on terrorism? What specifically would it take for you to agree that the war on terror is over? Will you protect the human dignity even of those who are suspected of a crime or of being an enemy combatant, prohibiting torture, physical pressure, water boarding or denial of the rights of habeas corpus and a speedy trial? What specifically will you do to strengthen civil liberties, human rights, and protection of our citizens from infringement of our privacy by corporations and by government related agencies? 7. Social Responsibility: We believe that many of the people leading corporations actually want to be socially responsible but are limited in doing so by their responsibility to maximize shareholder profit without regard to societal consequences. How can we devise policies that empower such leaders to act on their principles and that affirm that shareholders themselves often have concerns about the social and moral consequences of their investments? For example, we have suggested legislation that would require every large corporation (income over $50 million/year) to get a new charter every ten years, with the charter being granted only to those corporations that could prove a satisfactory history of social responsibility to a jury of ordinary citizens. Would you support this legislation? Do you believe that the "free market," based as it is in an inequitable distribution of money and hence of inequitable "consumer power" about what is to be produced, should be the only mechanism for shaping production of goods? 8. Modeling Personal Responsibility: How can you, your campaign, and your staff model what it means to care for others? The NSP has called for elected officials and their staffs to give a few hours during each work week to hands-on service to the needy, for example in a soup kitchen or homeless shelter. Would you take this on? 9. Meaning and Purpose: Do you agree that the economy should not only increase financial wealth but also provide ways for people to contribute to some higher meaning and purpose? In what ways would you give priority to resisting our society's tendency to value human beings primarily in terms of what societal, economic, or sexual needs they can serve? What steps will you take to make politics about meaning more than about large monied interests? Will you support electoral reform to eliminate the influence of money and incumbency, replace the Electoral College with the popular vote, require free media time for candidates, ban political advertising, and fully equalize the possibilities of ordinary citizens running for office even though they do not have the backing of corporate interests? 10. Values in the Public Sphere: Many of us have worried that openly supporting values in the public sphere violates the separation of church and state. This hesitance has cleared the way for the values of the market-profit, competition, narrow self-interest-to dominate our common life. How would you bring a values-based moral voice into the public square, affirming that the creation of a loving and caring society is a legitimate purpose of governmental action as the expression of the caring impulse of the people? A Note on Elections and Political Pundits In the coming months, you will hear the media, political pundits, bloggers, and the mavens of the political parties refer to certain candidates as "realistic," "pragmatic," "knows how government works," "electable," "not too partisan," or "savvy." Beware the weight placed on these labels. They are shorthand for "willing to accept the basic contours of economic and political power," even as they work for some limited but valuable reforms. The labels urge candidates to stay within the limitations of what is instead of reaching for what might be. In many of our religious traditions, such fixation-"being realistic" and accepting the way things already have been set up in our world while ignoring the transformative power of God-is called idolatry. The truth is that a candidate who courageously speaks to our distress at the selfishly manipulative way people treat each other and the earth will get voters' attention in a way no candidate has in decades. If that candidate can then point the way to maximizing a meaningful life rather than just maximizing material success, that candidate will be electable. By moving beyond the normal range of political discourse and addressing the pain and frustration generated by the spiritual and ethical crisis in American society, a spiritually progressive candidate can become more viable than the more traditional politicians who stay within the box of conventional political discourse. The Network of Spiritual Progressives has developed a Spiritual Covenant with America that might be a starting point for such a platform. The Spiritual Covenant can be downloaded from www.spiritualprogressives.org/article.php?story=covenantWe offer this covenant in a spirit of humility while standing steadfast in our call for a new bottom line of love and caring. If you are excited about this new vision, please join the Network of Spiritual Progressives! You can help us spread these ideas. Use the elections to challenge the conventional ways of thinking about politics. Don't waste your money, time and energy backing candidates who don't really support your highest ideals and vision of a healthy society. If you can't find a candidate to support, consider becoming a candidate yourself and running on these ideas. CLIP Distribute this brochure to your neighbors and coworkers. Free copies-call (510) 644-1200. The Network of Spiritual Progressives is a national interfaith organization dedicated to a fundamental shift from fear and domination to love and generosity in our institutions, public policies, and social practices. Please join us and contribute to spreading this way of thinking! www.spiritualprogressives.orginfo@spiritualprogressives.org Call (510) 644-1200 NSP, 2342 Shattuck Ave, Suite 1200, Berkeley, California 94704 --- Also recommended:Core Vision www.spiritualprogressives.org/article.php?story=20061207101937278Before any here jump to any conclusions about this site [you'll know what I mean] take your time and explore the articles; like this one: Understanding Evil www.spiritualprogressives.org/article.php?story=20080126195158582 There is much confusion in our world today concerning Israel, the Jewish people, who's Jewish, who isn't....I find too much opinion to either accuse or blindly support....we need more understanding than that....maybe I'll address this elsewhere....maybe, if I am lead to do that....it's such a complicated issue...MNOTE: The one presidential candidate who best represents the ideals and views outlined above in What America Needs in 2008 has been forced to abandon his presidential bid and has been systematically deprived of substantive national newsmedia coverage and even banned from participating in several recent political televised debated despite very favorable polls among progressive Democrats and qualifying to the criteria for selection devised by a major US TV network. Here are some relevant web resources on him:Kucinich Abandons White House Bid (25 January 2008) www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,2246793,00.html Dennis Kucinich, the Ohio congressman who tried to prod his fellow Democrats to take a tougher stand against the Iraq war, dropped out of the race for the White House yesterday. Kucinich, 61 and a six-term member of Congress from Cleveland, had barely registered on the political radar during the campaign. He makes his exit amid reports that he faces a series of primary challenges to his seat in Congress. (...) He was regularly shut out of presidential debates - even after he went to the courts to seek airtime in Las Vegas. (...) Despite his apparent failure to gain support in presidential politics, commentators have given Kucinich credit for giving a greater airing to anti-war sentiment. But as he himself admitted yesterday: "There is a point at which you just realize that you, look, you accept it, that it isn't going to happen and you move on." Democrat Dennis Kucinich abandons presidential race (Jan 25, 2008) www.timesreporter.com/index.php?ID=78586&r=0CLEVELAND (AP) - Democrat Dennis Kucinich abandoned his presidential campaign Friday to focus on his congressional district. It was Kucinich's second long-shot campaign for the White House in four years. Kucinich, 61, faces four challengers in the March 4 congressional primary in his campaign for a seventh two-year term in the House. Kucinich, speaking at a union hall, said he remained focused on ending the war in Iraq and ensuring jobs, health care, education and retirement security for all. "I won't be president, but I can continue to fight for these important issues as the United States congressman representing the community that is first in my heart, Cleveland, Ohio," he told supporters, who chanted "Dennis, Dennis" as he took the podium. "Today we are recommitting our energy to a government that works for all of us and is open to all of us. ... A government that stands for truth, for civil liberties and for a constitution," he said. "And it starts today in Cleveland, Ohio, in the heart of America." CLIP Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich from Ohio's 10th District (HE NEEDS URGENT ASSISTANCE)www.youtube.com/watch?v=LehCxhHPXQ8Dennis Kucinich's stance on key issueswww.dennis4president.com/go/issues/A Disgrace... Kucinich Banned!!! The Best Positions By Far (January 15, 2008) www.huffingtonpost.com/blake-fleetwood/a-disgrace-kucinich-banne_b_81663.html(...) These primaries are a participatory farce, but will lead to the eventual nominee. The electorate -- and the Democratic Candidate -- must not be terrified of real New Deal style change, which Kucinich represents. Kucinich is not running to win the nomination. He knows he is not going to succeed... He is running to influence the political discourse within the Democratic party --- which is critically important. He is running to show the front-runners what the full spectrum of Democratic opinions might be... in a real debate. CLIP Wikipedia entry for Dennis Kucinichen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Kucinic
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Post by evelyn on Jan 28, 2008 20:23:31 GMT 4
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Post by evelyn on Jan 29, 2008 4:44:50 GMT 4
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Post by evelyn on Feb 10, 2008 20:17:54 GMT 4
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Post by evelyn on Feb 10, 2008 20:23:07 GMT 4
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Post by evelyn on Feb 13, 2008 0:29:32 GMT 4
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Post by evelyn on Feb 13, 2008 21:01:19 GMT 4
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michelle
Administrator
I have broken any attachments I had to the Ascended Masters and their teachings; drains your chi!
Posts: 2,100
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Post by michelle on Feb 14, 2008 14:37:29 GMT 4
Thanks for all the articles, Evelyn. By the way, I started a thread on Paul Wellstone sometime back; I hope to add more in the future. You can find it here: airdance.proboards50.com/index.cgi?board=america&action=display&thread=1193956094 Up first, a message from Dennis....they're trying to crush him in Cleveland...If you find it in your heart, send him some help in the form of cash. Next, a revealing article on what the Dems are doing to one of their own. Make sure to read Is Dennis Kucinich Getting McKinney'd below. Dennis is getting alot of flack from, it seems, everyone these days....I will stand by him till the end....he always has for us....Michelle"One month from now is the Ohio primary and I'm running for re-election to the House of Representatives. I'm also being outspent 5 to 1. Corporate interests are converging on Cleveland in an effort to try to knock me out of Congress. I need your help to make sure that there continues to remain in the United States Congress a voice of truth, a voice of courage, a voice of integrity. I want to continue to serve in Congress to stand up for my constituents and their economic rights: the right to a job, to health care for all, to retirement security, for the education of their children. I need your help in order to do that. These interests groups have enabled television ads to be run against me for 2 weeks running and I haven't had the resources to be able to go back on television and to respond to them. But with your contribution I'll be able to do that. So please go to our website right now at kucinich.us/contribute.html and give us the resources that we need to beat back this corporate challenge. I'm confident that with your help I'll be able to continue to be the voice in the United States Congress that you count on to be heard in times of crisis. We need to regain our country. We need to sweep aside the fear that has engulfed this country. We need to set back the greed that is undermining this country. I'm prepared to do that and I'm prepared to do that with your help."
- Dennis Kucinich (4 Feb 2008)------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Headlined on 2/8/08: Is Dennis Kucinich Getting McKinney'dby Kevin Zeese www.opednews.comFormer Presidential Candidate Who Advocated Peace and Impeachment Facing Well-Financed Challenge at Home On the Hill some call it being McKinney’d – the treatment Green Party presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney received when she was in Congress. Twice, rather than protecting the incumbent, the Democrats put up well funded challengers against her. Now, it looks like Dennis Kucinich may be facing the same treatment in Cleveland. There is a report circulating the web that before the Nevada primary Kucinich was visited by representatives of Nancy Pelosi and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the right wing Israeli lobby. They told him that if he would drop his campaigns to impeach Cheney and Bush, they would guarantee his re-election to the House of Representatives. Kucinich threw them out of his office. See, portland.indymedia.org/en/2008/02/371899.shtml. Kucinich has aggressively challenged the Democratic Party leadership in Congress and on the presidential campaign trail on the issues of war, civil liberties, impeachment and big business control of government. He’s even refused to pledge to endorse the party’s presidential nominee. The Democratic leadership has insisted that impeachment was off the table since taking control of the House in 2006. Congressman Conyers, Chair of the Judiciary Committee, has even refused to investigate whether President Bush and Vice President Cheney have violated the law. But Kucinich pushed the issue. He introduced articles of impeachment against Cheney, then against Bush and he brought the issue up on the House floor. He pushed and pushed to try to make sure the president and vice president were not above the law. On the campaign trail he didn’t let Senator Clinton or Obama get away with campaign peace rhetoric in the Democratic primary while they voted war funding with no strings attached in the senate. He pointed out that their rhetoric was not consistent with their actions. He pushed the issue of all troops being removed; while Obama and Clinton parse their words carefully making it clear they will withdraw only some of the troops and neither promising a complete troop withdrawal even by 2012. And he pierced the veil of campaign rhetoric of Democrats who call for “universal health care” but put forward plans that will enrich their donors in the private health insurance industry. On issue after issue Kucinich pushed against the Democratic Party leadership – now, it seems he is paying a price. In Cleveland, Kucinich is being challenged by several candidates. The one that is getting the most attention and funding is City Councilman Joe Cimperman. He’s served on the council for ten years and has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars from real estate interests to challenge Kucinich. He’s been saying that Kucinich focuses too much on campaigning for president and not on the district. The Mayor of Cleveland and the Cleveland Plain Dealer has endorsed Cimperman. Kucinich, who has been focused on the presidential campaign, has very little money in the bank (reportedly only about $30,000). He’s been putting out fundraising appeals (see, e.g., www.youtube.com/watch?v=LehCxhHPXQ8) and has a fundraiser planned with Sean Penn. Back home the issue of right wing Israeli lobby funding is becoming an issue. Cimperman put out a press release that urges Kucinich to refute a report in the People’s Weekly World Newspaper that said the “Kucinich campaign charged” that Cimperman’s effort to unseat Kucinich was financed in large part from “a right-wing pro-Israel group.” Cimperman has been somewhat theatrical in his campaign. He’s been putting up signs “Where’s Dennis?” and describing him as a “Missing Congressman.” Cimperman took the poster to Kucinch’s office and delivered a copy on videotape. See youtube.com/watch?v=Pd-8nwj7GWY. Kucinich responded by asking Homeland Security to investigate the filming of government property. Cimperman responded with another video calling Kucinch a hypocrite for violating his privacy while railing against government intrusion into people’s lives. See youtube.com/watch?v=lJsC99FDdeQ&feature=user. No doubt if Kucinch had kow-towed to Nancy Pelosi, been less aggressive in his comments in the presidential debates and agreed to endorse the Democratic presidential nominee, the Democratic Party would be discouraging opponents and coming to the aid of an incumbent who has been in the House since 1996. But elected officials like McKinney and Kucinch who challenge the Democratic Party line – who think for themselves and feel a responsibility to fight for their constituents and challenge corporate power – are a hindrance to the party leadership. They get in the way and let the public know what is really going on. So, they must be either tamed or made an example of. If Kucinich gets McKinney’d you can be sure the message will be received. Those, like Congressman Conyers, who’ve been around for awhile (Conyers has been in the House since 1965) know better than to step too far out of line. So, Conyers has remained silent on Bush’s law breaking – protecting his committee chairmanship by being afraid to use it. Conyers has been tamed but Kucinich hasn’t. So, Kucinich needs to be taught a lesson that other members will learn from. The growing revolt of the “Out of Iraq Caucus” needs to be kept impotent. Knocking out Kucinich will prevent others from too loudly disobeying leadership. Kucinich has faced tough battles in Cleveland before. When he was mayor he stood up to corporate interests that wanted to take over Cleveland’s public utility and survived a recall election. And, Cimperman is not the only challenger, there are several, so the anti-Kucinich vote may be sufficiently divided for the congressman to retain his seat. If he doesn’t Kucinich may find new political opportunities that give him a bigger platform. Perhaps he will leave the Democratic Party with whom he has had so much disagreement and join Cynthia McKinney in the Green Party (see www.runcynthiarun.org/) – a party whose platform is consistent with his. If so a McKinney-Kucinich ticket could be an interesting development in the 2008 election year. The Democrats may regret their punishment of both McKinney and Kucinich. Source: www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_kevin_ze_080208_is_dennis_kucinich_g.htm
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michelle
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I have broken any attachments I had to the Ascended Masters and their teachings; drains your chi!
Posts: 2,100
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Post by michelle on Feb 18, 2008 7:04:03 GMT 4
Subject: Still Praying For America Date: 2/17/2008 9:13:35 PM Eastern Standard Time From: messages@kucinichforcongress.com Today is the sixth anniversary of my "Prayer for America" speech. Please take a moment to read the speech or watch it on YouTube: video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8528466337443301416In light of the events that have taken place since I wrote and delivered it on February 17, 2002, you will see that long before anyone else in Congress saw the danger our country was headed toward, I spoke out -- truthfully and forcefully. I need your help to continue to be the voice of the people. My primary election is on March 4th, just a little more than two weeks from now. Today's newspaper is reporting, once again, that I am being outspent heavily in my efforts for re-election. What is not said is where the money is coming from: Corporate interests whose narrow concerns do not allow for peace, for health care for all, for workers' rights. I can and will continue to speak out with your support. The working men and women of my district are working hard to protect this seat, which belongs to them. They are going door to door throughout the neighborhoods of the Cleveland area. Just yesterday, hundreds of dedicated citizens from all walks of life fanned out all across the District to spread the word about the importance of holding on to this Congressional seat so their voices will continue to be heard and represented in Washington. With a million dollars being spent against us on negative ads, false claims, and misrepresentations, we need additional funds to make sure that our message gets on television, radio, and through the mails. Please contribute as generously as you can at www.kucinich.us/contribute.html to ensure that the people continue to be represented in the U.S. House of Representatives. Let our Prayer for America on this day in 2008 be one of determination that we will save our government -- and this Congressional seat -- from corporate control. Dennis -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A Prayer for Americaby US Rep Dennis Kucinich The following speech was given on February 17, 2002
I offer these brief remarks today as a prayer for our country, with love of democracy, as a celebration of our country. With love for our country. With hope for our country. With a belief that the light of freedom cannot be extinguished as long as it is inside of us. With a belief that freedom rings resoundingly in a democracy each time we speak freely. With the understanding that freedom stirs the human heart and fear stills it. With the belief that a free people cannot walk in fear and faith at the same time.
With the understanding that there is a deeper truth expressed in the unity of the United States. That implicit in the union of our country is the union of all people. That all people are essentially one. That the world is interconnected not only on the material level of economics, trade, communication, and transportation, but innerconnected through human consciousness, through the human heart, through the heart of the world, through the simply expressed impulse and yearning to be and to breathe free.
I offer this prayer for America.
Let us pray that our nation will remember that the unfolding of the promise of democracy in our nation paralleled the striving for civil rights. That is why we must challenge the rationale of the Patriot Act. We must ask why should America put aside guarantees of constitutional justice?
How can we justify in effect canceling the First Amendment and the right of free speech, the right to peaceably assemble?
How can we justify in effect canceling the Fourth Amendment, probable cause, the prohibitions against unreasonable search and seizure?
How can we justify in effect canceling the Fifth Amendment, nullifying due process, and allowing for indefinite incarceration without a trial?
How can we justify in effect canceling the Sixth Amendment, the right to prompt and public trial?
How can we justify in effect canceling the Eighth Amendment which protects against cruel and unusual punishment?
We cannot justify widespread wiretaps and internet surveillance without judicial supervision, let alone with it.
We cannot justify secret searches without a warrant.
We cannot justify giving the Attorney General the ability to designate domestic terror groups.
We cannot justify giving the FBI total access to any type of data which may exist in any system anywhere such as medical records and financial records.
We cannot justify giving the CIA the ability to target people in this country for intelligence surveillance.
We cannot justify a government which takes from the people our right to privacy and then assumes for its own operations a right to total secrecy.
The Attorney General recently covered up a statue of Lady Justice showing her bosom as if to underscore there is no danger of justice exposing herself at this time, before this administration.
Let us pray that our nation's leaders will not be overcome with fear. Because today there is great fear in our great Capitol. And this must be understood before we can ask about the shortcomings of Congress in the current environment.
The great fear began when we had to evacuate the Capitol on September 11.
It continued when we had to leave the Capitol again when a bomb scare occurred as members were pressing the CIA during a secret briefing.
It continued when we abandoned Washington when anthrax, possibly from a government lab, arrived in the mail.
It continued when the Attorney General declared a nationwide terror alert and then the Administration brought the destructive Patriot Bill to the floor of the House.
It continued in the release of the bin Laden tapes at the same time the President was announcing the withdrawal from the ABM treaty.
It remains present in the cordoning off of the Capitol.
It is present in the camouflaged armed national guardsmen who greet members of Congress each day we enter the Capitol campus.
It is present in the labyrinth of concrete barriers through which we must pass each time we go to vote.
The trappings of a state of siege trap us in a state of fear, ill-equipped to deal with the Patriot Games, the Mind Games, the War Games of an unelected President and his unelected Vice President.
Let us pray that our country will stop this war. "To promote the common defense" is one of the formational principles of America.
Our Congress gave the President the ability to respond to the tragedy of September 11. We licensed a response to those who helped bring the terror of September 11th. But we the people and our elected representatives must reserve the right to measure the response, to proportion the response, to challenge the response, and to correct the response.
Because we did not authorize the invasion of Iraq.
We did not authorize the invasion of Iran.
We did not authorize the invasion of North Korea.
We did not authorize the bombing of civilians in Afghanistan.
We did not authorize permanent detainees in Guantanamo Bay.
We did not authorize the withdrawal from the Geneva Convention.
We did not authorize military tribunals suspending due process and habeas corpus.
We did not authorize assassination squads.
We did not authorize the resurrection of COINTELPRO.
We did not authorize the repeal of the Bill of Rights.
We did not authorize the revocation of the Constitution.
We did not authorize national identity cards.
We did not authorize the eye of Big Brother to peer from cameras throughout our cities.
We did not authorize an eye for an eye.
Nor did we ask that the blood of innocent people, who perished on September 11, be avenged with the blood of innocent villagers in Afghanistan.
We did not authorize the administration to wage war anytime, anywhere,anyhow it pleases.
We did not authorize war without end.
We did not authorize a permanent war economy.
Yet we are upon the threshold of a permanent war economy. The President has requested a $45.6 billion increase in military spending. All defense-related programs will cost close to $400 billion.
Consider that the Department of Defense has never passed an independent audit.
Consider that the Inspector General has notified Congress that the Pentagon cannot properly account for $1.2 trillion in transactions.
Consider that in recent years the Dept. of Defense could not match $22 billion worth of expenditures to the items it purchased, wrote off, as lost, billions of dollars worth of in-transit inventory and stored nearly $30 billion worth of spare parts it did not need.
Yet the defense budget grows with more money for weapons systems to fight a cold war which ended, weapon systems in search of new enemies to create new wars. This has nothing to do with fighting terror.
This has everything to do with fueling a military industrial machine with the treasure of our nation, risking the future of our nation, risking democracy itself with the militarization of thought which follows the militarization of the budget.
Let us pray for our children. Our children deserve a world without end. Not a war without end. Our children deserve a world free of the terror of hunger, free of the terror of poor health care, free of the terror of homelessness, free of the terror of ignorance, free of the terror of hopelessness, free of the terror of policies which are committed to a world view which is not appropriate for the survival of a free people, not appropriate for the survival of democratic values, not appropriate for the survival of our nation, and not appropriate for the survival of the world.
Let us pray that we have the courage and the will as a people and as a nation to shore ourselves up, to reclaim from the ruins of September 11th our democratic traditions.
Let us declare our love for democracy. Let us declare our intent for peace.
Let us work to make nonviolence an organizing principle in our own society.
Let us recommit ourselves to the slow and painstaking work of statecraft, which sees peace, not war as being inevitable.
Let us work for a world where someday war becomes archaic.
That is the vision which the proposal to create a Department of Peace envisions. Forty-three members of Congress are now cosponsoring the legislation.
Let us work for a world where nuclear disarmament is an imperative. That is why we must begin by insisting on the commitments of the ABM treaty. That is why we must be steadfast for nonproliferation.
Let us work for a world where America can lead the day in banning weapons of mass destruction not only from our land and sea and sky but from outer space itself. That is the vision of HR 3616: A universe free of fear. Where we can look up at God's creation in the stars and imagine infinite wisdom, infinite peace, infinite possibilities, not infinite war, because we are taught that the kingdom will come on earth as it is in heaven.
Let us pray that we have the courage to replace the images of death which haunt us, the layers of images of September 11th, faded into images of patriotism, spliced into images of military mobilization, jump-cut into images of our secular celebrations of the World Series, New Year's Eve, the Superbowl, the Olympics, the strobic flashes which touch our deepest fears, let us replace those images with the work of human relations, reaching out to people, helping our own citizens here at home, lifting the plight of the poor everywhere.
That is the America which has the ability to rally the support of the world.
That is the America which stands not in pursuit of an axis of evil, but which is itself at the axis of hope and faith and peace and freedom. America, America. God shed grace on thee. Crown thy good, America.
Not with weapons of mass destruction. Not with invocations of an axis of evil. Not through breaking international treaties. Not through establishing America as king of a unipolar world. Crown thy good America. America, America. Let us pray for our country. Let us love our country. Let us defend our country not only from the threats without but from the threats within.
Crown thy good, America. Crown thy good with brotherhood, and sisterhood. And crown thy good with compassion and restraint and forbearance and a commitment to peace, to democracy, to economic justice here at home and throughout the world.
Crown thy good, America. Crown thy good America. Crown thy good.
Thank you.Paid for by Kucinich for Congress PO Box 110475 Cleveland, OH 44111
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michelle
Administrator
I have broken any attachments I had to the Ascended Masters and their teachings; drains your chi!
Posts: 2,100
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Post by michelle on Jun 20, 2008 20:12:44 GMT 4
Kucinich Vows New Round of Impeachment Articles Against Bush If Measure DiesNo doubt, during my recent absence, you've heard of the current PUSH from Dennis for impeachment....I love, love, LOVE Dennis for his commitment to WE The People. Here's a bunch of stuff, new and older, for you to read. By the way, Happy Summer Solstice! Folks, make no mistake, Dennis' timing at this point in our calendar is Divinely timed. You can find out why at Wake Up World, just as soon as I post the info there, today....would you expect anything else from our 'Man of the Light?'.....Michelle PS: here's the link to the Wake Up World post I mentioned: tinyurl.com/5t2gwoAlex Jones Interview of Dennis Kuninich - Must listen to! (27 min - 14 June 2008)video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8711754520366121482Dennis says something highly spiritual and very beautiful between 17 and 18 minutes into this interview.Kucinich: Impeachment Not "Off the Table"Thursday 19 June 2008 by: Christopher Kuttruff, t r u t h o u t | Report While Congressional leaders silently opt to table impeachment articles against President Bush, Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) vows to speak out and keep the articles alive and in the public conscience. Kucinich spoke on Tuesday to Truthout about his resolution. Last week the House voted 251-166 to refer Kucinich's articles of impeachment to committee - an action that most political analysts view as a desire by the Congressional leadership to bury the resolution. Kucinich, however, promised to keep impeachment from being swept "off the table" in order to provide a historical record of the Bush administration's policies. The 35 articles of impeachment include charges of violating domestic and international laws against torture, misrepresenting intelligence in the lead-up to the war, illegally spying on American citizens, obstructing justice and governmental oversight, and many other violations. When asked why impeachment has not been seriously considered, Kucinich recalled to Truthout: "Back in October of 2006 ... the Democratic leaders, expecting that they would be in a position of being in charge of the Congress, when asked about impeachment, said no. So, what happened is the tone was set early on that impeachment would be off the table even before the Democrats took over. The problem is that such an approach unwittingly licensed misconduct and violations of US and international law. This was not very well thought out by Congressional leaders. Because the inaction has nullified the historical role - the constitutionally mandated role - of separation of powers and checks and balances. Two years ago it was too early ... now it's too late. The only question that should be asked is did he violate the law? The answer to that question is yes." On MSNBC's Keith Olbermann on June 10, Jonathan Turley, professor of constitutional law at George Washington University, commented on the articles of impeachment. "The framers, I think, would have been astonished by the absolute passivity, if not the collusion, of the Democrats in protecting President Bush from impeachment," Turley stated. "Frankly some of these claims are not really impeachable offenses. For example, it's not impeachable to be negligent. But there are plenty of crimes there. What's really disturbing for many of us, is that it takes a real effort for Democrats to walk from the floor to their offices and not trip over crimes. They are all over the record. What's amazing is that the president is hiding in plain view. He hasn't really denied the elements of these offenses. So, all that is lacking is political will," Turley noted. "Speaker Pelosi will continue to lead legislative efforts to find a new direction in Iraq but believes that impeachment would create a divisive battle, be a distraction from Congress' efforts to chart a new course for America's working families and would ultimately fail," Nadeam Elshami, spokesman for Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, said in a statement. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer has questioned the effectiveness of challenging President Bush in the "waning months of this administration's tenure." With elections approaching, many Congress members dismiss the impeachment resolution as implausible and politically unwise, but few have attempted to dispute the substance of the articles. Sending the resolution to committee, a tactic frequently used to block debate on an issue or piece of legislation, reflects the Congressional leadership's unwillingness to debate the articles. But while most legislation can go to committee and not be heard from again, impeachment is a privileged resolution, meaning that it has to be initially voted on in a timely manner, and it can be brought up again. Kucinich vowed to do exactly that. He stressed that if the resolution is not acted on by the House Judiciary committee, he will reintroduce the articles. "I'll bring it back," Kucinich emphasized. "The minute I introduced it, someone from the media said 'Well the leadership says this is dead'; and I said 'well, then, I hope they believe in life after death' because I'm bringing this back. And it'll be brought back within about 30 days of when I introduced it. And there'll be more. There'll be 60 items. And I'll read them. And people need to hear exactly what's happened in this government." Congressman Robert Wexler (D-Florida), Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-California) and Lynn Woolsey (D-California) have come out in support of the resolution, but most Congress members have avoided the issue completely, trying not to marginalize themselves before the 2008 election. Kucinich said that he is talking to other House members to try to get them on board, and that he was also going to speak to Judiciary Chairman John Conyers this week, and provide Conyers more information and evidence supporting the articles. "I've talked to Republicans who support the resolution, but they're not prepared to come out. There are Democrats who support it, and hopefully they'll put their names to it. But whether they do or not, I feel that this needs to be on the record," Kucinich said. Asked why the conflicting principles of the Democratic Party and the Bush administration have not resulted in a more defined impasse between the two branches, Kucinich stated, "The Bush administration has promulgated this concept of a unitary executive, which essentially nullifies, again, the Congress. And if the Congress goes along with that, it's essentially engaging in self-negation. We don't have any right to destroy the Constitution any more than the president does. And we have to look at the consequences of our failure to act here." Kucinich refused to accept the notion that articles of impeachment were an exercise in partisanship that would not result in any action. "There are hearings that take place, but of what consequence. There are letters being written, but where do they lead? If there's no accountability, hearings and letters are for naught. This impeachment resolution is a document, which should be the basis for hearings. I am not going to relent in my determination to protect this Constitution and to show the American people that the government that they have had for the last two terms has been based on lies - lies that have separated us from the world..." » Christopher Kuttruff is an editor and reporter for Truthout. Source: www.truthout.org/article/kucinich-impeachment-not-off-tableObama Must Learn From Kucinich's Election Theft Impeachmentwww.truthout.org/article/obama-must-learn-from-kucinichs-election-theft-impeachmentBob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman, of The Free Press, write: "Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) has introduced 35 articles of impeachment against George W. Bush. Two of the articles deal with the fact that Bush was never elected, and in fact stole the election of 2004 in Ohio. They should serve as a cautionary notice to the Obama campaign that this year's election could also be stolen. Kucinich's courage in introducing these articles is underscored by the fact that the Congress should have removed Bush from office years ago. From lying to the world to perpetrate the war in Iraq, to violating the Constitution on scores of basic civil rights and liberties issues, to fostering a regime based on unprecedented corruption and robbery, George W. Bush would be known as the worst president in the history of the United States if in fact he had been elected president." Kucinich Vows New Round of Impeachment Articles Against Bush If Measure Diestinyurl.com/3kyvo5Dennis Kucinich, the Ohio Congressman and former 2008 Democratic Presidential candidate, said he would continue to introduce resolutions calling for the removal of President George W. Bush from office if the articles of impeachment against Bush that he presented to the House Monday is not taken up within 30 days or dies in committee. CLIP Video: Tell Conyers to Start Impeachment Hearings!www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lg0JugJGt40&feature=PlayList&p=67EA54DBA77EA3D4&index=1&playnext=2&playnext_from=PLGore Vidal’s Article of Impeachment (June 11, 2008)www.truthdig.com/report/item/20080612_taking_back_the_republic/On June 9, 2008, a counterrevolution began on the floor of the House of Representatives against the gas and oil crooks who had seized control of the federal government. This counterrevolution began in the exact place which had slumbered during the all-out assault on our liberties and the Constitution itself.I wish to draw the attention of the blog world to Rep. Dennis Kucinich’s articles of impeachment presented to the House in order that two faithless public servants be removed from office for crimes against the American people. As I listened to Rep. Kucinich invoke the great engine of impeachment—he listed some 35 crimes by these two faithless officials—we heard, like great bells tolling, the voice of the Constitution itself speak out ringingly against those who had tried to destroy it. Although this is the most important motion made in Congress in the 21st century, it was also the most significant plea for a restoration of the republic, which had been swept to one side by the mad antics of a president bent on great crime. And as I listened with awe to Kucinich, I realized that no newspaper in the U.S., no broadcast or cable network, would pay much notice to the fact that a highly respected member of Congress was asking for the president and vice president to be tried for crimes which were carefully listed by Kucinich in his articles requesting impeachment.But then I have known for a long time that the media of the U.S. and too many of its elected officials give not a flying fuck for the welfare of this republic, and so I turned, as I often do, to the foreign press for a clear report of what has been going on in Congress. CLIP Wexler Attacked For Impeachment Support - from Congressman Robert Wexler (6-15-8)www.rense.com/general82/impeach.htmLast Thursday the largest newspaper in my congressional district - the South Florida Sun-Sentinel - published an editorial lambasting my enthusiastic support for immediately holding impeachment hearings for President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. Numerous letters to the editor have also criticized my support for this movement. Below, you'll find the original Sun-Sentinel editorial, followed by my response, which was printed yesterday. I assure you that I will not back down from this fight °© no matter the consequences or political cost. The only thing that maters is that we deliver accountability for the Bush Cheney Administration and defend our government and our constitution. CLIP
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michelle
Administrator
I have broken any attachments I had to the Ascended Masters and their teachings; drains your chi!
Posts: 2,100
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Post by michelle on Jul 4, 2008 22:49:13 GMT 4
Happy Independence Day - Let's put the Constitution back on the table!"As we once again celebrate our Independence as a nation, let us celebrate freedom from fear and pledge that government 'of the people' will survive in this land that we love." - Congressman Dennis KucinichTranscript:Some Democratic Leaders say Impeachment is off the table.
So, let's set a new table for our nation, upon which we place the Constitution and where we demand that all those who have taken an oath to defend it ... keep their promise and protect our nation from the threat within.
Please go to kucinich.us now and sign the petition, which calls for impeachment. This is the one petition that will make a difference because I will be personally delivering it to your member of congress. Please circulate word of this petition far and wide, to all your friends and family. This is the one opportunity that we have right now to actually change events in this country.
Two hundred and thirty-two years ago, our nation was conceived in liberty. We have once again reached a moment of truth, one that Lincoln recognized at Gettysburg as to whether "this nation or any nation so conceived or so dedicated can long endure."
Through the ashes of the civil war, Lincoln prayed that "this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom ... and that government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
This Fourth of July, 2008, we face a different kind of war; one which is trying our souls ... a war based on lies. But with the power of truth and the power of the people we can achieve a new birth of freedom, standing up for what is good in America, insisting on the rule of law, demanding adherence to the Constitution, and supporting the impeachment of a President who lied to take us into a war against Iraq.
Be the answer to Lincoln's Prayer. Please pledge your support now to restoring the rule of law in America. As we once again celebrate Independence Day, let us celebrate freedom from fear and pledge that this government of the people will survive in this land that we love.
Please go to kucinich.us now. This is your opportunity to make a difference; truly celebrate Independence Day.
Thank you and Happy 4th of July.
Dennis Kucinich ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dear Friend: Only one Congressman had the personal courage and the profound respect for our Constitution to stand on the floor of the House of Representatives and exercise his right and his responsibility to bring Articles of Impeachment against President George W. Bush - Ohio Representative Dennis J. Kucinich. Now is the time for Americans to speak with one voice to support his bold and historic efforts to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States of America. (http://impeachment.kucinich.us/) Beginning today, Americans who cherish our Democracy and the Constitutional principles upon which it was founded can stand up, speak out, and take action by signing the one official petition that carries the full and unqualified support of the one and only original sponsor of the impeachment resolution: Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich. Read the Articles kucinich.us/impeachment/articles.pdf and exercise your right to be heard by signing the official Kucinich Petition. impeachment.kucinich.us/petition/. Thank you Committee to Re-Elect Congressman Kucinich
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michelle
Administrator
I have broken any attachments I had to the Ascended Masters and their teachings; drains your chi!
Posts: 2,100
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Post by michelle on Jul 9, 2008 0:48:55 GMT 4
You've spoken. Will Congress listen? Dear Friends,
Tens of thousands of Americans have put their names on the line by signing the petition supporting Articles of Impeachment against the President.
In the next few days, it will become clear whether Congress will respond or further action is necessary.
Thank you. Re-Elect Congressman Kucinich Committee
A special video message from Dennis:
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