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Work 4 Peace,Hold All Life Sacred,Eliminate Violence! I am on my mobile version of the door-to-door, going town-to-town holding readings/gatherings/discussions of my book "But What Can I Do?" This is my often neglected blog mostly about my travels since 9/11 as I engage in dialogue and actions. It is steaming with my opinions, insights, analyses toward that end of holding all life sacred, dismantling the empire and eliminating violence while creating the society we want ALL to thrive in

Thursday, March 22, 2007

My heart is broken.... again

We are talking about WAR – not about what is politically feasible, what will get votes or not, what the prez will veto or not. But 553 more days of WAR!

I ask people, seasoned activists or not, to pretend it is THEIR mother who is about to be murdered, or THEIR child, or THEIR brother, or even, heaven forbid, themselves.

Move-on leadership should be led by the grassroots; instead they have misled grassroots.

I believe Move-on has done an unconscionable thing: first with the survey, and then urging move-on membership to target progressive democrats that are not falling in line w/the moderate leadership. We are not stupid.

Move-on should have trusted the grassroots and spelled out exactly what the “Iraq Accountability Act” said. An informed decision could have followed. Move-on should have spelled out the other choices – i.e. Barbara Lee’s amendment.

In my opinion, Move-on should be paying more attention to the leadership of Barbara Lee, Lynn Woolsey, Maxine Waters, and the rest of the Progressive Caucus and NOT moderate democrats, if they want to make a difference and really Move-on.

What do they not understand about the vote to give bush an additional $124 billion dollars? This is what should have been made clear in their bogus 'survey'.

I’m sorrier than anyone that move-on has chosen this path. My heart is broken.

Call Congress - vote NO on supplemental - Move-On is WRONG!

Move-on is WRONG! Don't you think it curious that Move-On did NOT explain what exactly this double speak act means? That it is attached to the 124 BILLION more dollars to escalate the war against Iraq. That it is a wishy-washy thinly disguised political attempt to fool us into thinking this 'new' congress is anti-war while they are buying war.

We are NOT fooled – to add further hurt, Move-On has taken the results of this bogus "survey" and is using it to pressure our most progressive, radical congresspeople who have ALWAYS acted as they spoke - against war! Telling us to call those congresspeople to vote for funding the escalating of war.

Please, I caution us not to equate dissent, critical thinking and analysis with "divisive" and "negative". Move-On will only be strengthened by criticism and input from it's members. No one said Move-On - i.e. YOU and ME - did not do a great job getting out the vote. But now Move-On leadership is adding our Move-On voice as aligned with that of the "moderate" democrat leadership of the house.

For those of us who are in D.C. working and who are paying close attention to how our Congresspeople ACT, not just the words they spout, I share everyone's terrible disappointment and rage with both our newly-elected Democrats in Congress and the leadership of Move-On in not standing with everything we have against this war & the continued occupation.

I remind us that we are only disappointed - others have been demolished: hundreds of thousands of lives have been destroyed, especially for Iraqis, and in our name. We do not have the luxury of waiting to end our occupation.

Furthermore, the same lies that enabled the American public to support our getting into the war against Iraq, are the same lies that are attempting to get our support for keeping us from pulling out our troops & contractors NOW. We do not have to figure out HOW to get out of Iraq = no one asked us to figure out how to get in to Iraq. We KNOW the truth: we are still there in order to exploit the oil resources of that country NOT to protect the Iraq people or to somehow make things better for them - LIES, LIES, LIES.

We are the richest, wealthiest, most resourceful country in the world - as soon as we want the war to be over, it would be. Period. The rest is just bs to keep us distracted, uncentered, scattered. We have to focus - WE have to be the ones that say END WAR NOW. No excuses, no double-speak, no political whatever. Just bring the troops and contractors home NOW.

Howard Zinn says re:Move-On's attempt to shore up the moderate democrat's leadership:
"We are not politicians, we are citizens. Let the politicians advocate half-way measures if they choose, but only after they have felt the full force of citizens who speak for what is right, not what is winnable in a shameful timorous Congress. If Congress thinks it must compromise, let it. But we should not encourage that. We should speak our minds fully, boldly and say what is right , whatever they decide to do..."

Call Barbara Lee, John Lewis and any other congressperson targeted by Move-On - apologize if you asked her/him to support the "Iraq Accountability Act" and tell her/him you want her/him to vote NO - get us out of Iraq NOW!