“Changing History is NOT a Spectator Sport”
Donald Rumsfeld spoke before the National Press Club on Thursday — where he most famously said, “You’ve got Chavez in Venezuela with a lot of oil money. He’s a person who was elected legally just as Adolf Hitler was elected legally.” More about that in my next story, because there’s another story about Rummy’s speech that’s been underreported:
World Can’t Wait’s Heather Hurwitz, a respectfully attired teenager, stood up and shouted to Rumsfeld:
“You have committed crimes against humanity and BushCommission.org and thousands are coming this weekend to drive you out of office, You and you whole administration. Step down Mr. Rumsfeld, Bush administration step down and take these programs with you. You are torturing people signing off on torture. It’s happening. This world needs to wake up, stop this war, this criminal war.”
As Heather Hurwitz was taken out forcibly by security guards, people yelled at her: “SHUT UP!” And they snickered as loudly as they could — you can hear them on DN!’s audio/video — while Rumsfeld looked on amused, and … don’t miss this …
Rummy smirked and said, “Well, I guess we’ll have to count her among the undecided.”
(By the way, Amy Goodman didn’t report Rummy’s retort, but you can hear him on the video she plays.)
What’s this World Can’t Wait — and its protest — that Heather Hurwitz speaking up for? Some of you (Super SOLING!) know already! MORE BELOW:
From Democracy Now’s headlines:
Hurwitz is a member of the group World Can’t Wait. The group is convening a protest in Washington Saturday calling on the Bush administration to step down. Thousands of people are expected to attend.
11AM: Rally at 17th & Constitution
2PM: March around the White House
Speakers include: Kathleen Chalfant, Doris “Granny D” Haddock, Michael Ratner (Center for Constitutional Rights, Boots Riley (the Coup), Representative from 1199 SEIU United Health Care Workers East, Rebecca Schaefer (Georgetown Law School Student), Rev. Al Sharpton, David Swanson (After Downing Street), Sunsara Taylor, Ann Wright (Veterans for Peace), more TBA pending schedule confirmations.
Actor Mark Ruffalo urges you to get on the bus this Saturday! [click here to listen]
“There are millions of us out there who are frustrated and angry. Not only in small pockets, but all around the United States crossing into many different kinds of people, spanning oceans and continents. We are the growing majority. Ultimately, we are not alone. If you come out, you will see that others will greet and support you and enfold you into something that is greater than your fear of what we are being led to believe America is about. It’s time to get on the bus this Saturday, February 4th. It’s time to demand that Bush step down.” [MORE]
“Changing History is NOT a Spectator Sport”
Who says we make this the new catchphrase for Democrats during the 2006 midterms?
Funny you should say that. I was thinking the same darn thing as I read this and it was so overwhelming inside of me that Rummy was just talking about his boss and the mob that works for him. How can they keep a straight face anymore. They HAVE to know they are lying.What a joke.
Good on that gal! That is my favorite fantasy. I will somehow get an “audience” with the Boy Emperor and while shaking his hand I spit in his face. Am I bad or what?
Republicans.
They are the ones who believe that Bush was elected legally. 😉
Who was it who said that laughter is the shadow of a dead emotion?
Thank you for this post, susanhu.
Duly noted over at my humble blog.
Thank you so much, James.
As soon as I saw Amy’s show (thanks to DISH) this morning, I hopped over to Google News and searched for these two terms:
World Can’t Wait and Rumsfeld
I got ZERO results.
Then I knew that the MSM had blown it off. I don’t know how Amy got the video … someone must have sent it to her.
Gosh, her video quality on her site is SO GOOD! The Rummy shot is a bit smudged because he was moving/gesturing and i couldn’t capture a clean shot of him.
(Yeah, I captured all those images … but PLEASE STEAL THEM! I want the word to get out! I am so PROUD of Heather! SHE RAWKS!)
The cool thing about blogs is that they have the potential to act as a form of guerilla media. That’s something I genuinely groove on.
So having a divergent opinion at the National Press Club, that’s a bad thing. And not having everyone there on the same page, that would be intolerable, right? Free press indeed.
So Rummy’s gratuitous threats against Chavez end up pushing Venezuela into acquiring nuclear weapons? It could happen, since Venezuela has the scientific capability.
To keep their country safer, they just might want to do that.
into a more and more volatile situation between sides.
God bless this courageous woman. Is there a way to contact her to send her some love?
I swear, every single day we’re facing more and more assaults, planned in advance, and accellerating in pace. I’m afraid we’re always one step behind on their planning. The nature of Democracy depends on trust and the truth. They’re playing us like a violin. While we continue to give them the benefit of a doubt, as diversity of thought IS a Democratic principle, they just use our honesty and contemplation against us, and keep knocking us out by their sheer volume of illegal actions, counting on that we’ll be too busy thinking and weighing things before we act.
How the hell do we fix the difference between the processes?
.
In my diary earlier today ::
Mr. Chávez’s comments came on the same day that senior Bush administration officials, who have been relatively silent after weeks of constant verbal volleys by the Venezuelan leader, harshly criticized his governing style. Warning that Mr. Chávez is consolidating power at the expense of democracy, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld went so far as to compare Mr. Chávez to Hitler:
Mr. Rumsfeld said, referring to the Cuban leader and the new president of Bolivia, Evo Morales. “It concerns me.”
Mr. Negroponte also said:
Mr. Chávez’s populist government was seeking closer economic and military ties with Iran and North Korea, while meddling in the internal affairs of neighboring countries.
Little, if anything, has ever been publicly raised about ties to North Korea, and Mr. Negroponte did not offer evidence. But Mr. Chávez, whose country has the hemisphere’s largest oil reserves, has met with Iranian leaders and has vigorously defended Tehran’s goal of developing a nuclear program.
“But I will not let myself be reduced to silence.”
▼ ▼ ▼ MY DIARY