Month: July 2006

In the last six years George Bush and his rubber-stamp Republican Congress have waged class warfare against working Americans, pandering to the ultra-rich while at the same time repressing the income of working class Americans.

Our current Representative Zach Wamp has consistently opposed and lobbied against increases in the minimum wage while supporting tax giveaways for millionaires and increases in his own salary.

The minimum wage had not been increased since 1997. In that same period, Mr. Wamp had given himself eight salary increases totaling more than 35,000 dollars!
The number of Americans living in poverty decreased during the Clinton years, but has increased rapidly under the Bush administration. When Bush took office, thirty million Americans lived in poverty. Now six years later, thirty-five million Americans live in poverty, and the gap between the rich and the poor steadily grows.

In fact, of all the states Tennessee has one of the largest gaps between the rich and the poor, and also one of the largest gaps between the rich and the middle class. Tennessee ranks in the top five in both categories! In addition the gap is growing faster in Tennessee than in any other state.

Alan Greenspan says this increasing gap between the rich and the poor is a grave threat to “democratic capitalism.”

But these facts Mr. Wamp chooses to avoid or ignore as he tries to convince the people of the third district that our economy is thriving and that working Americans are better off than ever.

If our congressman really cared about the people of Tennessee and the third district, these economic problems would be a priority for him.  Instead, he showed his true colors when he appeared on C-SPAN Friday night and literally crowed about how the Republicans had “out-foxed” the Democrats by attaching a poison pill to the bill to increase the minimum wage.

This poison pill is in the form of repealing the estate tax.

This poison pill will be a bonanza for Paris Hilton and her ilk, who will receive an 800 billion dollar gift from US taxpayers, while the US Treasury is stripped of 800 billion dollars which will be added to the 8.4 TRILLION dollar national debt that Wamp helped Bush create.

Wamp’s callous and reckless disregard of working families in his effort to line the pockets of his super rich donors is an affront to American values and is, simply put, just plain wrong.

Playing politics with the wages of working Americans reveals that Wamp is a values-hypocrite whose sense of morality has been compromised.

I’m one of the “Veterans for a Secure America,” running for US Congress in the third district of Tennessee.  I’m running a grassroots campaign against a long-term Republican incumbent who has chosen not to honor his term limit pledge of twelve years ago.  Please visit my website, Terry in ’06, and help take America back!  I need and very much appreciate your support!

President Fidel Castro has suffered severe intestinal bleeding and has been forced to submit to emergency surgery. His brother Raul Castro has assumed control of the country.

Castro fainted during a speech in 2001 and fell and broke his arm during a speech in 2004. He is almost 80 years old. He has ruled Cuba since 1959.

His revolution caused some of the most significant events in the 20th-Century: the Bay of Pigs, Operation Northwoods, The Cuban Missile Crisis, and probably the assassination of JFK.

It is uncertain how the country will react to Fidel’s death, if it occurs. His brother will probably assume the Presidency. Whether the U.S. can normalize relations with Raul Castro is an open question. Based on the profile from Newsmax it appears that he is considered an even more dedicated communist than his brother. I have no idea where he stands on the issues or how he might rule his country.

this diary is dedicated to all who suffer because of war

eleven images and poem below the fold

A member of the Red Cross checks bodies after an Israeli air raid in Qana, 6km from the port city of Tyre (Soure), in south Lebanon July 30, 2006. The Israeli air strike in Qana killed at least 54 people, the deadliest attack in an onslaught against Hizbollah that has largely overshadowed an Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip.
REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra (LEBANON)

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A Red Cross member sits next to bodies after an Israeli air raid in Qana, 6 km (4 miles) from the port-city of Tyre (Soure) in south Lebanon, July 30, 2006.
REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra (LEBANON)

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Red Cross members are seen after an Israeli air raid in Qana, 6 kilometers (4 miles) from the port city of Tyre in south Lebanon, July 30, 2006.
(Zohra Bensemra/Reuters)

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Lebanese Red Cross and Civil Defense workers carry the body of a small child covered in dust from the rubble of his home that was hit in an Israeli missile strike in the village of Qana, Lebanon, east of the port city of Tyre, Sunday, July 30, 2006. Lebanese Red Cross officials said 56 people died in the Israeli assault on the village, including 34 children. Rescuers dug through the debris to remove dozens of bodies.
(AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)

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A Red Cross member looks at a body after an Israeli air raid in Qana, 6 km (4 miles) from the port-city of Tyre (Soure) in south Lebanon, July 30, 2006.
REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra (LEBANON)

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A rescuer sits in an ambulance next to the body of a young victim after an Israeli air raid on Qana killed more than 54 people, 37 of them children, in south Lebanon, July 30, 2006.
REUTERS/Ali Hashisho (LEBANON)

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Rescuers carry a victim outside the Tyre hospital after an Israeli air raid on Qana killed more than 54 people, 37 of them children, in south Lebanon, July 30, 2006.
REUTERS/Ali Hashisho (LEBANON)

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A Red Cross worker carries a body inside an ambulance after an Israeli air raid in Qana, 6 km (4 miles) from the port-city of Tyre (Soure) in south Lebanon, July 30, 2006.
REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra (LEBANON)

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Medical personnel line up bodies outside the Tyre (Soure) hospital after an Israeli air raid on Qana killed more than 54 people, 37 of them children, in south Lebanon, July 30, 2006.
(Ali Hashisho – LEBANON/Reuters)

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A Lebanese rescue worker stands next to bodies of Lebanese victims which were recovered from the rubble of a demolished building that was struck by an Israeli war plane in the village of Qana, in the port city of Tyre (Soure), in south Lebanon July 30, 2006. A refrigerated truck served as morgue at the Government Hospital.
(Zohra Bensemra/Reuters)

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A medical personnel lines up children’s bodies in body bags outside the Tyre hospital after an Israeli air raid on Qana killed at least 54 civilians, including 37 children, in south Lebanon, July 30, 2006.
REUTERS/Ali Hashisho (LEBANON)

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In Jerusalem
by Mahmoud Darwish
translated by Fady Joudah

In Jerusalem, and I mean within the ancient walls,
I walk from one epoch to another without a memory
to guide me. The prophets over there are sharing
the history of the holy . . . ascending to heaven
and returning less discouraged and melancholy, because love
and peace are holy and are coming to town.
I was walking down a slope and thinking to myself: How
do the narrators disagree over what light said about a stone?
Is it from a dimly lit stone that wars flare up?
I walk in my sleep. I stare in my sleep. I see
no one behind me. I see no one ahead of me.
All this light is for me. I walk. I become lighter. I fly
then I become another. Transfigured. Words
sprout like grass from Isaiah’s messenger
mouth: “If you don’t believe you won’t believe.”
I walk as if I were another. And my wound a white
biblical rose. And my hands like two doves
on the cross hovering and carrying the earth.
I don’t walk, I fly, I become another,
transfigured. No place and no time. So who am I?
I am no I in ascension’s presence. But I
think to myself: Alone, the prophet Mohammad
spoke classical Arabic. “And then what?”
Then what? A woman soldier shouted:
Is that you again? Didn’t I kill you?
I said: You killed me . . . and I forgot, like you, to die.

– – –

John Conyers has a new report called the Constitution in Crisis. This is a preview of next year’s reckoning:

The laws implicated by the Administration’s actions include federal laws against making false statements to congress [sic]; federal laws and international treaties prohibiting torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment; federal laws concerning retaliating against witnesses and other government employees; Executive Orders concerning leaking and other misuse of intelligence; federal regulations and ethical requirements governing conflicts of interest; the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act; communications privacy laws; the National Security Act; and the Fourth Amendment.

I am hopeful that Conyers will restore our Democracy. I’m not cocky about it. I just think there is a better chance that he will follow through than there ever was that Lee Hamiliton would get to the bottom of Iran-Contra.

(cross-posted at Deny My Freedom and Daily Kos)

There is no greater disaster than to underestimate your enemy.

–Lao Tzu

It’s 8 days until the momentous primary on August 8. For all intents and purposes, this race will have a huge impact no matter what the outcome. As Chris Bowers wrote earlier, the blogosphere is going to come out a loser in one way or another:

Now, whether Ned Lamont wins or loses this election, in the days immediately following August 8th, there will be a flood of negative press about the netroots and the progressive movement. If Lamont wins, we will be crucified for sending the Democratic Party to its doom, and defeating one of the greatest Democratic politicians in history: Joe Lieberman. If Ned Lamont loses, we will once again be called ineffective, irrelevant, and crazy by the establishment, even though we clearly scared the crap out the establishment and even though this campaign was supposed to be a blowout win for Lieberman.

The enthusiasm on the Internet has been great – we’ve been raising money and have made a race that would have been dismissed in the past a national sensation. But I get the feeling that aside from the bloggers who are in Connecticut and those who have actually done some work for the campaign, many people think that Joe Lieberman is finished. And you know what, he may very well be – I keep asking the Lamont staffers what the plans are post-August 8 because I do feel so good about his chances. They don’t have an answer, though – they are focusing solely on the primary and putting in 70-hour weeks to make this final push in getting Ned across the finish line. Things may seem rosy now, but a lot can happen in 8 days. One only needs to read about the Lieberman campaign’s intended push to get out the vote to know that this is going to be the longest 8 days anyone has.

It’s all part of the plan laid out by Tom Lindenfeld of LSG Strategies of Washington, D.C., which was brought in by Lieberman to get out the vote in the final sprint to the polls.

Smith said they now have between 200 and 300 volunteers and paid staff, to canvass daily. Democratic workers in New Haven said the campaign told them it hopes to hire up to 4,000 workers by Election Day.

[…]

Meanwhile, New Haven Alderwoman Jacqueline James, D-3, said a young, mostly white staff from New Jersey was in charge of canvassing for Lieberman, and that hundreds of people were turned away July 22 after being told the campaign was looking for 16- to 21-year-olds.

The alderwoman estimated 56 young people were hired out of about 500 people who showed up, attracted by the $60 a day fee, or about $800 for the duration.

She said LGS does not know the demographics of the city at all. James suggested that they match inexperienced teens with more savvy workers, but this was rejected.

“They kept saying this is how we do it in New Jersey. I kept telling them, `This is not New Jersey,'” said James, who no longer volunteers for Lieberman.

One may say that it’s naive to apply the same canvassing model in Connecticut that is used in New Jersey – it probably is, given that New Jersey is the most densely populated state in the country, while there are a few big cities in Connecticut, with several rural areas. Nevertheless, you cannot underestimate the impact of 4,000 workers, whether they are paid or not. That is a lot of people. During his gubernatorial run, we got paid a decent amount per hour for canvassing for Jon Corzine in New Jersey, but there is no way there were 4,000 people canvassing for him, despite his immense personal wealth. You can bet that these volunteers will be concentrated in the big cities – Stamford, Bridgeport, Hartford – to turn out the vote for Lieberman. His access to the political machines, which have pledged fealty to him despite a campaign that has seemingly been imploding, will guarantee that there will be a huge drive there. As I mentioned yesterday, there was a sighting of the vans that the Lieberman campaign will be renting out for the duration in support of their canvassing operation. The Lamont campaign has no such advantage; we drove down to Stamford in two cars and walked around the spacious neighborhoods, a much more exhausting task than getting an air-conditioned van to drive you around. I know the person who is coordinating Lieberman’s out-of-state canvassing effort very, very well – and this person is driven to win this race like none other.

In addition, do not underestimate the outside support Lieberman is pulling in. He is bringing in all sorts of big guns to campaign for him – Bill Clinton, Chris Dodd, Ken Salazar, Joe Biden, Barbara Boxer, Daniel Inouye, and Frank Lautenberg will have made campaigned for him – and of those, Inouye and Salazar will back Lieberman even if he follows through with his plan to run as an independent. It’s true that Lieberman’s race-baiting tactics will largely be negated due to the likes of Maxine Waters and now Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton as they campaign for Ned. Nevertheless, we underestimate the effect of an ex-president and sitting senators at our own risk. People love star power, and the Senate is a club – they don’t want an outsider crashing their party. Chris Dodd has lent Lieberman his own political advisors when it became clear that the senator’s own campaign was too inept to handle the surprising charge Lamont was mounting. The current members of Connecticut’s Democratic Party elite are fully-heartedly backing Lieberman (although it seems that both John DeStefano and Dan Malloy, the gubernatorial candidates, are slowly backing away from him). Additionally, the biggest interest groups – the AFL-CIO, NARAL, and Planned Parenthood, to name a few – have endorsed Lieberman despite his questionable record. It helps that Lamont has the backing of the teachers’ unions, NOW, and the Connecticut head of NARAL, but the campaign is shut out from the access, the manpower, and the money that these connections provide.

So why am I saying all of this? Simply enough, it’s great that there are a dozen or so college-aged staffers and volunteers giving a ridiculous amount of time to help Lamont win this primary. But we need to do better. And this is where the blogosphere has to step up. It’s one thing to post about this issue from the outside and to send money. But it is not the same as having warm bodies hitting the pavement. You can bet the Lieberman campaign is canvassing every single day with its paid workers. From what I know from my experience in the 4th District, we have only canvassed on the weekends. There simply aren’t enough office staff to send out everyday to make sure people spread the word. I know that a good deal of the blogosphere is concentrated in the Northeast. This means that, barring a prior obligation (such as work) or financial issues, you have no excuse for not coming to Connecticut and helping out, especially on the weekends. It’s one thing to comment on the race from afar – but it’s a completely different story when you’ve been there upfront, talking to people when you’re on the phone or hitting the blacktop. As Tim Tagaris said earlier, nothing else is going to matter except for the votes. And starting from Thursday up through August 8, that is all the Lamont campaign will be doing. No, it may not be as glamorous as hounding Joe at every stop on his bus tour. But at this point, the campaign needs you more than ever.

Daily Kos, MyDD, Firedoglake, Eschaton, My Left Nutmeg, LamontBlog, Spazeboy, CTBlogger, CT Bob, and the one that started it all, Dump Joe, have done a great job of making sure you know about this race. Now it’s time for all of us to get out and do something about it if possible. For me, it has always made a big difference when you stop passively supporting an effort and begin to actively participate. You become emotionally invested in it, and it means a lot more than it ever did before. The weather might be crappy – it’s been awful weather as of late back here. You might have to put a few things you wanted to get done on the backburner. But this is an experience you will never forget – because this could very well be the race that announces that the blogosphere has truly arrived. And you don’t want to miss it for anything in the world.

So please – come to Connecticut and make sure that when the clock strikes midnight on August 8, Joe Lieberman is hearing the fat lady sing loud and clear.

Barry Welsh the Congressional Candidate for Indiana’s 6th district was just interviewed by Stuart O’Neill for Stuart O’Neill’s Political Interviews.  It is the second time in two months that he has been interviewed for this site, and Jack Carter, Senate Candidate from Nevada is going to be interviewed tomorrow.   I will post a link in the comments section when it comes up as I had hoped it would be up by now.
Mike Pence, who Barry is challenging voted against The Minimum Wage the other day, and here is his reason and one line of Barry’s response from the Muncie Star

Pence calls wage hike excessive

By RICK YENCER
ryencer@muncie.gannett.com

MUNCIE — Republican Congressman Mike Pence voted against the first minimum wage hike in a decade, saying it was too costly for business.
“Any proposal containing a minimum wage increase should be jobs neutral,” said Pence on the House floor. “This increase in the minimum wage is excessive and will hurt the poor and those entering the workforce by reducing the number of entry-level positions.”
……..
Democratic congressional candidate Barry Welsh has been critical of Pence opposing an increase in the minimum wage. Welsh supports as much as a $1.50 hike in minimum wages.
“Congress had no trouble voting for their own cost of living wage, but then forget about those that are struggling just to survive,” said Welsh, a Methodist minister.
…….

This is great, we are getting some support from some local press, the individuals that we have as volunteers to our campaign; teachers, professors, attorneys, web design staff, college interns…wow when I look at the list of unique and politically active folks with our campaign it’s really amazing.  We have the best professional volunteer staff one could ever hope for in a million years.  We have received support from the state party, they have kindly donated the VAN listings each month rather than we pay for them. We’ve been linked by the DCCC on their website as well as now regularly receiving the Congressional talking points and issue updates. We have numerous folks showing up at all the events that we go to.  We are now able to assemble and tear down our parade float (91 Ford pickup) in approx. 10 mins.  We call it (proudly) the working person’s float for the working person’s candidate. We have banners, we have our parade folks made up of retirees, and college interns and we are so well received wherever we go.  

Yesterday, we participated in the Connersville, IN parade – that’s a long parade route in Fayette Co. (There are always updates on Barry’s site)It was also approx. 90+ degrees with a heat index of over 100+ degrees.  I was sweating rather than glowing.  We were in line and one of the other candidates, Dale Lanning who is running for Indiana State Rep. in Dist. #55 had a convertible for Barry to ride on (due to the weather and the length of the parade route).  After much encouragement, Barry agreed to ride in the convertible and his campaign crew would follow in our “parade float” of which I am the driver and the rest of the crew are walkers.  Well we get about 3 blocks out of the starting point and going down some of the main intersections and Barry couldn’t stand it any more – I shook my head and laughed.  That’s my Barry, he can’t sit still – he needs to talk to people and engage in his fellow residents of the district.  So he jumps out of the car and there is Barry running to shake hands and dole out dog biscuits and crossing the road to shake hands with everyone on both sides of the street, criss crossing to make sure he shakes as many hands as possible.  Getting and giving hugs from supporters and long time friends, while introducing himself to as many new faces as possible.  

We have set up a pretty cool audio system on the truck and we’ve burned our own parade music and every 2nd or 3rd track is a radio ad that Barry cut just prior to the primary.  It’s a 60 second ad telling people who Barry is and his issues that he’s a democrat and he’s running against Mike Pence.  We then have our interns handing out our flyers to everyone in attendance so people, hear about Barry, read about Barry and see Barry. I was getting stopped by folks in the crowd wanting me to give them yard signs and others are loving the Edwin Star song called War which is part of our `audio messages’ and then we have 16 Tons by Tennessee Ernie Ford and AC/DCs Back in Black and a String of Pearls by Benny Goodman as well as few country songs too.  Everyone can hear us coming a mile away and they know we are coming.  Every 4 minutes we have Barry’s commercial and man it’s effective.  I couldn’t get over how many people wanted us to stop and talk to them or stop and acknowledge them and their support.  Nothing makes Barry’s day as when he feels he has reached out to the people, and heard what needs to be heard.  

It’s really funny though, on Pence’s website, he was showing pictures of himself walking parade routes and insinuating that he personally was at the same parades we have attended.  Wow he’s so quick too, he has even reported attending a parade (with pictures too) that didn’t happen yet – imagine that!!!  These pictures are all from two years ago.

We need Barry Welsh in Congress and I would like to remind all that even though you may not be able to vote for him, REMEMBER – who ever holds a congressional seat effects everyone everywhere!  This is the year folks, and we all need to stick together to make a change if for no other date in time but on the day of the General Election of 2006.  We MUST get the vote out and everyone who isn’t registered needs to be registered.
Here is Barry’s website http://www.barrywelsh.org please email this to everyone you know.  You never know who knows someone that lives in Indiana, or this district and can and wants to help.  It doesn’t cost you anything, email Barry’s website to everyone on your list, please.  

Have a listen to Barry and his most recent interview about minimum wage, the middle east and the lack of real leaders, it will be up soon!   Also coming soon, Barry’s Blograiser.  

Thanks for taking the time to read this diary and I hope you enjoy the interview.

Sherri Welsh
Congressional Candidates Wife

i just dont have that much important stuff to say…and this is probably a mistate writing this one.

can you imagine going 6 days with no news, no internet, no radio, no tv, absolutely no knowledge of whats going on in the world?

can you imagine being in so much pain that the liquid oxycontin…the stuff they give cancer patients to handle break out pain when the morphine stops working, isnt doing a darn thing to take away the pain?

can you imagine getting pics of a giant red tumor looking thing sent to you by your surgeon and knowing they just pulled that alien thing out of your body?

can you imagine working thru the pain and the nausea and ther lack of cholocate or any other solid food fior 6 days ans nothing liquid either besides flat diet creme soda and that wont stay down….but getting up anyway to catch up on a tiny bit of news at the frog pond where i dont have to slog thru narcissistic diaries and breaking headlines that arent and armondo sucks rants….and instead finding yet another flame war and a pond empty of some of my favorite people….again.

i counted on you people to hold down the fort and be here now with action suggerstions and hope and insights i wont get anywhere else.

now i fel even sicker than i did 5 minutes ago.

On August 17, U.S. Army First Lieutenant Ehren Watada will face a pre-trial hearing for refusing to deploy to Iraq. “It is my conclusion as an officer of the armed forces that the war in Iraq is not only morally wrong but a horrible breach of American law. The war and what we’re doing over there is illegal,” explained the first military officer to publicly take such a stand.

As supporters internationally gear up for the “National Day of Education” on Aug 16 to ask the question “Is the Iraq War Illegal?,” support from Iraq combat veterans continues to mount for Lt. Ehren Watada

Below are just a few statements of support from the many that the “Friends and Family of Lt. Watada” have received.

Take from the Action Alert at Thank you Lt dot org
Snippets from Action Alert Email on how to support the men and women in uniform from having to engage in an illegal occupation via… Courage to Resist

Below are just a few statements of support from the many that the “Friends and Family of Lt. Watada” have received.

Cloy Richards, US Marine Iraq War infantry/artillery

“Lt. Watada, along with every other service member who has the courage to stand up and say no to this illegal war are MY WAR HEROES. Thank you Lt. Watada for standing up for me and every veteran. I admire your courage and patriotism. I wish I was brave enough to stand up and say no when it really counted. Instead I said OK and went along with the lies I was told.”

Clifton Hicks, US Army Iraq War tanker

“You’ve done something to be proud of man, you’re setting an excellent example for every soldier in the armed forces. History will prove that you were right.”

Chad Hetman, Captain, US Army infantry

“Hopefully this officer will set an example for other officers to follow…This is what courage and ethics looks like.”

Garett Reppenhagen, US Army Iraq War sniper

“Thank you Lt. Watada. I was a sniper in the 1st Infantry Division and spent one year at FOB Scunion in Baquaba Iraq. I went to war believing that I had an obligation to my country because I signed a contract and gave an oath that I would be the weapon of my democracy. After my experience in combat I firmly believe that, that social contract has been broken.”

Howard Zinn
Lt. Watada and anyone else who refuses to fight in this immoral and illegal war in Iraq deserves the support of all who believe in peace, justice, democracy. As a former officer in the military I know how difficult it is to break away from the mindset of viiolence, war, and obedience, so I applaud his courage.

Veterans For Peace

Veterans For Peace applauds First Lieutenant Watada’s courage to follow his convictions and refuse deployment to Iraq.
Veterans For Peace Executive Director Michael McPhearson states, “The Bush administration continues to put our nation’s service members in harms way for no good reason. Today our troops face the long shadows of Abu Ghraib and now Haditha…

“I understand that many of our troops believe the U.S. occupation to be just and must follow their conscience. Other soldiers, while they do not believe in the war, feel obligated to follow the orders of their leaders or fear the consequences of resisting. However, more and more men and women are coming to the realization that they have the right to follow their conscience to resist this immoral war and are willing to face whatever consequences lay ahead. As a leader and officer, 1LT Watada has an obligation to steward the physical, mental and moral health of his troops. I imagine it has become clear to the LT that his duty to them can not be served by leading them in an endeavor based on deceit and half truths. Veterans For Peace supports the courage of this young man and other service members like him.”

For more information about 1LT Watada, please visit www.thankyoult.org . For more information about VFP, please visit www.veteransforpeace.org .

Veterans For Peace is a national organization founded in 1985. It is structured around a national office in Saint Louis, MO and comprised of members across the country organized in chapters or as at-large members. The organization includes men and women veterans from World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War, other conflicts and peacetime veterans. Our collective experience tells us wars are easy to start and hard to stop and that those hurt are often the innocent. Thus, other means of problem solving are necessary.

Read more statements of support here

Five years in prison for speech?

The Army has formally charged Lt. Watada two counts of making “contemptuous words” towards President Bush. In short, Lt. Watada has expressed his opinion that “our government led us into war based on misrepresentations and lies.” This is the first known prosecution of this “criminal violation” (Article 88 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice) since 1965. Could it be that because this opinion is so widely shared, that it is so threatening?

The Army charges that these same words also constitute “conduct unbecoming and officer and a gentleman.” As such, Lt. Watada now faces over five years in military prison for his opinions alone.

It is Lt. Watada’s outspoken stand for truth that has most angered Army brass. Even before he refused to board an Iraq-bound aircraft on June 22 with the 3rd Stryker Brigade, he was already under investigation for expressing his opinions about the war.

——————

Of course not everyone supports Lt. Watada…  

Free Speech Threatned in New Haven, CT by Marine with a Bat

“Activists in New Haven, CT were confronted with a bat-wielding Marine as they expressed their support for war resisters in conjunction with nationwide actions in support of Lt. Ehren Watada in late June.’ AP

I’ve seen this hatred myself. They call Watada horrible names while they spit on the people trying to stop this needless killing, death and violence.    

Snippet from Watada, the War and the Law
“Under military law, soldiers have the right to refuse to carry out illegal orders; in fact, they have a duty not to commit war crimes. According to Article 32 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, Watada retains the right to a preliminary hearing to “present anything he may desire in his own behalf, either in defense or mitigation.” Under Article 46 defendants are allowed at trial to “compel witnesses to appear and testify and to compel the production of other evidence.”

.
The Dutch are rather polite in their reaction in comparison to BooMan‘s angry writing, in essence however,  there is little difference.

  «« click for Powell's book info

2  The article by Alan Dershowitz is proof that a university professor in his major is no expert on other subjects. He may be professor in criminal law at Harvard University, he has little knowledge of ethics, history or exact science.

His view that “Israel the conflict started by Hamas and Hezbollah must be able to finish, even if that would lead to civilian casualties in Lebanon and Gaza” is lame and abject.  Fact in this conflict is Israel started with bombing raids on Lebanon after an Hezbollah attack on an Israeli border control unit and not Hezbollah with rocket attacks …

Rob Koopman – Leiderdorp

3  To illustrate the moral level of Alan Dershowitz, I will quote from the preface his friend Hendrik Broder wrote for the German version of Dershowitz’ book: ‘Plaidoyer für Israel’. I want to remark that the author bears a joint responsibility for the content written by his friend.

Hendrik Boder writes:

“It is true, presently Israel is more offender than victim. That is good and just, after the Jews for 2,000 years have tried the role of eternal victim, which brought solely bad experiences. Perpetrators have usually a longer life expectancy than victims en it gives more pleasure [macht mehr Spass] to be a perpetrator than being a victim.”

Hajo G. Meyer
Een Ander Joods Geluid

"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."

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