Monday, August 18, 2008.  Chaos and violence continue, Jeffry House still doesn't grasp what Justice Robert Barnes wrote in his ruling, Blackwater mercenaries are made to sweat, Ralph Nader fights for democracy and open debates and Cynthia McKinney makes it clear that she will not be intimidated by some 'supporters' who wanted her to cancel an appearance.   Starting with war resistance. Last Wednesday, US war resister Jeremy Hinzman was informed he had to leave Canada by September 32rd.  He and his family (wife Nga Nguyen, son Liam and daughter Meghan) have taped a video at the  War Resisters Support Campaign where Jeremy speaks to Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada:   Jeremy Hinzman: Hello, Mr. Harper.  This is my family Nga, Liam and Meghan.  We've been in Canada for the last four and a 1/2 years.  I was a specialist in the 82nd Air borne division of the United States Army and served honorably in Afghanistan.  In 2004, my family and I came to Canada because we would not participate in the Iraqi War, a war which Canada also refused to participate in because it was condemned by the international community.  One of your predecessors, Pierre Trudeau, once said that Canada should be have from militarism and we took him at this word.  On June 3, 2008, the Canadian Parliament passed a motion saying that United States war resisters should be able to remain in Canada.  We're asking you to abide by this motion and allow us to stay in Canada.  Thank you.   Title Card: On September 23rd, the Harper government plans to deport the Hinzman family back to the United States.   Title Card: Hinzman faces a court martial and up to 5 years in military prison for opposing the Iraq war and coming to Canada.   Title Card: War Resisters Support Campaign (Canada): www.resisters.ca   In These Times has an article by Peter Kavanagh and I'm going to take huge exception with a viewpoint offered by Jeffry House who really needs to start getting to know the facts.  Facts are your friend, Jeffry.  House represents Joshua Key (and many others) and maybe he thinks making ridiculous statements about the Barnes decision is to Josh's benefit?  I don't know.  But he was wrong when the decision was released and he's STILL wrong.  He tells Kavanagh, "The Key decision is of use to soldiers who have their boots on the ground and are ordered to commit acts [that] violate their consciences, and also violate international norms."  House is wrong.  Alyssa makes similar statements and I let it slide.  I cringe but let it slide.  She didn't live through the time period, House did.  Judge Barnes, PAY ATTENTION, found the Board to be in error by proclaiming "that refugee protection for military deserters and evaders is only available where the conduct objected to amounts to a war crime, a crime against peace or a crime against humanity."   Let me explain what NOT noting that is akin to: Finding out that your dream house has a closet painted the wrong color and saying, "Oh, forget it."  That sentence -- which escapes Allyson, shouldn't escape House.  Key words: MILITARY DESERTERS AND EVADERS.  Same words from Vietnam. Barnes is using those terms today.  Who's what?  Deserters are those who served in Iraq and then checked out.  Evaders would be those ordered to go to Iraq who checked out before deploying.  Barnes knows his terminology and he knows his history.  His decision is a very carefully constructed finding. By mentioning the category of military evaders he means who?  Jeremy Hinzman, Brandon Hughey and all others who checked out instead of deploying to Iraq.  Kyle Snyder, Joshua Key, Patrick Hart, etc would qualify as military deserters in the eyes of the court.   This isn't the first time Jeffry House has made public statements that have missed the boat (and, worse, damaged the cases of others).  I'm not going to sit here and smile and pretend it didn't just happen again.  He is WRONG.  Justice Robert Barnes' decision is a long one.  House was commenting on it without even reading it earlier.  It was obvious from the press that he hadn't even bothered to read it.  He may have read a summary but he didn't read the 23 pages.  Barnes is careful, considered and meticulous in his ruling.  He is specifically addressing Joshua Key's case but what he ruled provides openings for many war resisters -- regardless of whether they fall into the category of "military deserter" or "military evader."  The latter term, during Vietnam, was used to described those who were evading the draft.  The "evader" has always been the one who has not been on the battlefield.  Barnes is using that term today and Jeffry House should have caught that and should have understood its significance.  It's been over a month since that ruling was issued.  There's no longer an excuse for not being familiar with it.  We'll try to note Kavanagh's article again later in the week -- really note it -- but this is exactly the nonsense (House's -- I'm not referring to Kavanagh) that keeps hurting war resistance.  It is exactly why Mactavish was able to dismiss concerns as "speculation."  (And, hello, we pointed the dangers of that 'strategy' out here at the start of July.  Long before Mactavish offered that ruling.  And noted it would be dismissed as "speculation."  As it was.)  I'm sure House and others are overworked but there are too many basic points of law that are repeatedly being missed.  The ruling is 23 pages long.  All representing war resisters in Canada need to read over the ruling (read it again if they already have).  Don't take House's summary as gospel because this is the second time he's spoken of it publicly and been wrong.  Not only do you need to read it for what it says (such as "military deserters and evaders"), you need to read it while thinking how it directly effects your client's case and how YOU CAN TRY TO EXPAND IT to do so.  That is building on the ruling.  And, one more thing, Barnes mentions Jeremy Hinzman in his ruling.  He didn't have to.  The fact that Hinzman is mentioned in the ruling makes the ruling especially significant to Jeremy's case.  More so than any other war resister except Josh.  Equally true, Barnes' statement that, "Officially condoned military misconduct falling well short of a war crime may a support a claim to refugee protection" is a statement that applies to all, not just those who had their boots on the ground.  If only those whose boots were on the ground could make that assessment, Barnes couldn't make it himself.  He's dependent upon testimony and findings (including the International Red Cross).  The same testimony and findings he depended upon to make his ruling may have had impact on the decision of a US war resister currently in Canada who did not go to Iraq.   Irwin Loy (24 Hours Vancouver) reported over the weekend on Michael Beyers who is running for the Canadian Parliament and declared, "I believe in a Canada that grants asylum to principled young Americans that said no to an illegal war."  Byers is an NDP candidate and the NDP has a long history of supporting war resisters.  Just as Oliva Chow is among those leading the charge today, NDP-ers like Ed Broadbent led it during Vietnam.  Back then, Broadbent was regularly pointing out Canada's long history as a place for sanctuary such as when he noted, "Our tradition of welcoming those who are essentially political refugees goes back to the United Empire Loyalists."  Broadbent would go on to take the NDP to new heights in the immediate post-Vietnam period.  There is no political fallout for Canadian office holders on this issue.  [Click here for CBC coverage of Broadbent.]  This is the press release issued by Oliva Chow's office on the decision to deport Jeremy:   The August 13 decision by Harper's Conservative government to deport war resister Jeremy Hinzman is mean-spirited and anti-democratic.   "Harper's mean-spirited decision to allow this deportation is sad," said NDP Citizenship and Immigration Critic MP Olivia Chow.  "Jeremy has called Canada his home for the past five years and has just recently celebrated the birth of his second child.  If there was ever a case to grant refugee status on compassionate and humanitarian grounds, this is it."   With today's negative ruling on Jeremy Hinzman's Pre-removal Risk Assessment and Humanitarian and Compassionate consideration, there is an urgent need for the people of Canada to express their outrage against the Conservative government's refusal to act on the will of Parliament.    On June 3rd, Olivia Chow saw her motion to halt all deporations against US Iraq war resisters passed by Parliament by a vote of 137-110.   "Ordinary Canadians have already said 'yes' to Jeremy Hinzman and to his family," said Chow.  "They have spoken through their Parliament, they want to let Mr. Hinzman and other U.S. Iraq War Resisters stay in Canada."   Jeremy Hinzman is schedule to be deported on Tuesday, September 23.  Hinzman is the first war resister who filed a refugee claim to stay in Canada.   Courage to Resist alerts, "Supporters are calling on Hon. Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, to intervene. Phone 613.996.4974 or email finley.d@parl.gc.ca,"Iraq Veterans Against the War also encourages people to take action, "To support Jeremy, call or email Hon. Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, and ask her to intervene in this case. Phone: 613.996.4974 email: finley.d@parl.gc.ca." In addition to that, Canada's War Resisters Support Campaign is staging an emergency meeting this week (August 20th, Wednesday, 7:00 pm, Steelworkers Hall at 25 Cecil St.) and planning a day of action (September 13th) where "[a]ctions, demonstrations and pickets will take place in cities and towns all across Canada."   There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Yovany Rivero, William Shearer, Michael Thurman, Andrei Hurancyk, Megan Bean, Chris Bean, Matthis Chiroux, Richard Droste, Michael Barnes, Matt Mishler, Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Justiniano Rodrigues, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Jose Vasquez, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Logan Laituri, Jason Marek, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum. Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).   Turning to Iraq where Shi'ite pilgrims became the focus of attacks last week and it continued over the weekend.  AFP reports that from Thursday through Saturday "at least 36" lost their lives (and notes that Thursday's Iskandariyah attack claimed 22 lives with seventy-three injured). Sunday, Stephen Farrell (New York Times) reported on the 6 deaths of pilgrims in a bombing and that, "Three hours after the early-morning blast, shopkeepers, residents and survivors were still pulling charred goods and debris from damaged roadside stores, and sweeping ashes and wreckage into the gutter."  [Friday's bombing attack on pilgrims claimed 9 lives.] Yesterday Hussein Kadhim (McCatchy Newspapers) reports a Sunday  Baghdad bomber on bicylce that claimed his/her own life as well as 5 other people (thirteen wounded).  As the death toll increased, Sudarsan Raghavan (Washington Post) reported that 7 were dead from the "suicide bomber on a bicycle" with thirteen injured.  Erica Goode and Ali Hameed (New York Times) report the bombing took place "in front of Baghdad's famous Abu Hanifa mosque," claimed 15 lives (twenty-nine injured) and: "Witnesses said that the bomber, a man, may have been riding a motorcycle that was parked about 65 feet from a traffic light on the street."  Ned Parker and Saif Hameed (Los Angeles Times) explain, "There were contradictory accounts of the incident. One police officer said the bomber was disguised as a woman and arrived on foot; another said the attacker was not disguised and arrived on a bike."  The US military maintains it was a man and that he walked up to "an SOI control check point near the Abu Hamifa Mosque wearing a personal borne improvised-explosive device and self-detonated."  "SOI" is "Sons of Iraq" aka "Awakening" Councils (or Sahwa).  AP disagrees on the gender of the bomber (they say it was a woman) but do agree that 6 "bodyguards of Farooq al-Obeidi, deputy leader of the 'awakening council' in Baghdad's Azamiyah district, also died in the blast, which occurred as they were seated on chairs near a checkpoint near the Abu Hanifa mosque".    Sunday Del Quentin Wilber and Karen DeYoung (Washington Post) reported that six mercenaries working for Blackwater who had been in Iraq "working as security contractors for the State Department, assigned to protect U.S. diplomats and other non-military officials in Iraq" that they are targets in a criminal investigation.  If it seems familiar you may be remembering the real-time article by Sabrina Tavernise and James Glanz ("Security Firm Faces Criminal Charges in Iraq," New York Times). Dropping back to the September 17th snapshot:   Turning to the issue of violence, Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reported Sunday [Sept. 16th] that  a Baghdad shooting (by private contractors) killed 9 Iraqi civilians and left fifteen more wounded. Later on Sunday, CNN reported, "In the Baghdad gun battle, which was between security forces and unidentified gunmen, eight people were killed and 14 wounded, most of them civilians, an Interior Ministry official said. Details were sketchy, but the official said witnesses told police that the security forces involved appeared to be Westerners driving sport utility vehicles, which are usually used by Western companies. The clash occurred near Nisoor square, in western Baghdad.  CBS and AP report that Abdul-Karim Khalaf, spokesperson for the Interior Ministry, announced "it was pulling the license of an American security firm allegedly involved in the fatal shooting of civilians during an attack on a U.S. State Department motorcade in Baghdad," that "it would prosecute any foreign contractors found to have used excessive force" in the slaughter (eight dead, 13 wounded) and they "have canceled the liscense of Blcakwater and prevented them from working all over Iraqi territory."    The number killed continued to mount.  James Bone (Times of London) notes today that 17 Iraqi civilians were slaughtered in that incident and reminds that, "In negotiations on a new bilateral security agreement, the Iraqi government has pressed for all foreign personnel to be subject to Iraqi law."  Meanwhile, the US military has good news yesterday! "Attacks down except roadside bombs, rigged houses"! So attacks are down . . . if you eliminate some of the attacks. The opening sentence: "The numbers of houses rigged with explosives and roadside bombs have increased since the beginning of the Iraqi offensive in Diyala, while other attack trends have been decreasing." Guess this wave of Operation Happy Talk should be dubbed "win some, lose some." M-NF also announced 37 women "attended the first day of a four-week course at the Kirkuk Police Academy outside of Kirkuk city" Saturday. Reuters reported the Turkish military says they bombed northern Iraq on Sunday ("no details of casualties"). And that "police fired on demonstrators" Sunday in Arbil killing one.   In news of today's reported violence . . .   Bombings?   Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad roadside bombing that left five people wounded, while another Baghdad roadside bombing left three people wounded and a Baghdad IED bombing left nine people wounded. Reuters notes a Ramadi car bombing that claimed the lives of  5 police officers dead (seven wounded) and a Mosul roadside bombing that resulted in three being injured.   Shootings?   Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports that Faris Jabir Thair ("a member in Shaheed al Mihrab organization") was shot dead (machine gunned while in his car) in a Baghdad attack that left his wife wounded, while 2 people were shot dead in Basra ("director of an election center and his deputy") with another wounded and "Awakening" Council leader Raheem Thyab al Bayati was shot dead in Kirkuk.  On the Basra shooting of election officials, Reuters notes Ma'ath Wahab was the name of the director who was shot dead (the other killed and the one wounded are not named).     Turning to the US presidential race.  Last Monday, independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader was in Toronto.  Hentry Martinuk (Rabble News) reports today that Ralph attracted a crowd of 200 and: "There are several other issues where Nader differs from Obama and McCain: impeachment of Bush and Cheney; withdrawal from Iraq; restoring civil liberties; repealing anti-union laws; supporting industrial hemp; and cutting the wasteful military budget. According to Nader, Obama and McCain 'never met a weapons system they didn't like'."  Third Party Watch notes, "Zogby International reports that more than half of likely voters nationwide -- 55% -- want Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr to participate in the presidential debates this fall, while nearly half -- 46% -- also said they think Ralph Nader should be allowed into the debates."  Which is a good time to note, from Ralph's Daily Audio, "Join Our Super Rallies for Open Debates:"   Good morning, this is Ralph Nader. As you know, Nader/Gonzalez is being blocked from the presidential debates. The corporate controlled so-called Commission on Presidential Debates will not let any independent candidate in unless they show 15% in a series of polls in September. That's no surprise. What is surprising is the failure of other debates to fill the vacuum. Part of this is due to Senator Obama's reluctance to engage his opponents.    On May 4th, Obama told Tim Russert on Meet The Press that he was willing to debate with "any of my opponents about what this country means, what makes it great." But earlier this month, Obama's campaign manager backed off, saying that Obama would debate only Senator McCain and only in the three rigged debates that's sponsored by the two parties and paid for by corporations.   Senator Obama's also refused to participate in a number of other debates including the Google debate in New Orleans, the Texas Ft. Hood debate that is being organized by veterans groups and the series of ten townhall meetings proposed by Senator McCain. Senator Obama's refusal to participate is a mistake and is costing him in the polls. Just yesterday, the Gallup tracking polls put McCain and Obama tied at 44% each. If Obama doesn't agree to more debates he could end up at the end of a sentence that starts out "Mondale, Dukakis, Gore and Kerry. With only McCain and Obama on the stage , there will be no debate of key issues and redirections important to the American people . Just go down the partial list. Single-payer Medicare for all healthcare, supported by the majority of the American people, the majority of doctors and nurses, and just recently, unanimously, by the US conference of mayors? Obama says "no," McCain says "no." Reversing US policy in the Middle East? Obama says "no," McCain says "no." Cut the bloated, wasteful, redundant military budget? Obama says "no," McCain says "no." They want a bigger military budget. Empty the prisons of drug possessors and fill 'em up with corporate criminals? Obama says "no," McCain says "no." Nader-Gonzalez says "yes" to each.  The only way to change this systemic exclusion is for millions of Americans to become engaged now. If you can, please join with us at our two Super Rallies-- on August 27th in Denver at the University of Denver Magness Arena or September 4th in Minneapolis at Orchestra Hall. And help us raise the banner for all to see: "OPEN THE DEBATES."  If you are not able to attend, please go to VoteNader.org and donate now whatever you can up to the legal maximum of $4,600 to help fund our Open The Debates Campaign. Our goal is to raise $50,000 by Wednesday night. Last night, we were close to $14,000 in less than three days, but we have a ways to go. So join with us in Denver and Minneapolis if you can. We're planning to have some prominent activists and musicians with us. Stay tuned for more information on that. And we have some surprise, giant, inflatable visuals that should be a lot of fun, that will travel with us as we move from Denver to Minneapolis and then, hopefully, will bring attention to our Super Rallies from the press.   Thank you for your ongoing and considered support to our campaign. Together we are making a difference. Onward to November. I'm Ralph Nader.     Chuck Baldwin, Bob Barr, Cynthia McKinney and Ralph Nader are presidential candidates.  There is no need for "presumptive" to be used as a preface.  They are presidential candidates.  They get very little coverage.  The debates need to be opened and click here for Third addressing that yesterday and this was left out in the rush to type (Jim added it this morning -- thank you to community member Lynda), wo we'll include that section in full here:   The campaign is keeping issues on the table. Thursday, Jess spoke with Junue Millan at the newly opened Nader-Gonzalez Denver Headquarters.    The headquarters intends to be open not just business hours Monday through Friday, but from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. That's due to the fact that not only are they a campaign headquarters with all that entails, they're also gearing up for the Denver Super Rally August 27th. They are expecting between 5,000 and 7,000 people at the University of Denver's Magness Arena.    And they need volunteers. If you're in the Denver area and interested in helping, you can e-mail Junue Millan at junue@votenader.org as well as call the office (303) 832-2509 or walk in.    The Denver Super Rally will feature Ralph and running mate Matt Gonzalez as well as many guest speakers such as artist, activist and rocker Jello Biafra. Junue Millan described the mood to Jess as very up and noted that five outlets (including Univision) had sent reporters Thursday to cover the opening of the Denver headquarters. Millan was able to quickly -- without pausing -- tick off the issues that the Nader-Gonzalez campaign were raising and intended to keep on the table. None of that, "Check Saint Barack's website for issues, I am just here to talk about how groovy Barack is and how, when he cries, the heavens rain. I first came to Barack . . . a street junkie who had run away from home and was turning tricks on the side, selling a little blow and scamming this old lady at the homeless shelter, but Saint Barack has changed my life and cured my irritable bowel syndrome. Praise be, St. Barack." Instead, Millan was informed and a total pro which says a great deal the Nader-Gonzalez campaign.   Steven Argue (Dissident Voice) reports that Green Party candidate Cynthia McKinney (and running mate Rosa Clemente) will be participating in Recreate '68 in Denver in spite of the fact that "the Green Party of Colorado has issued false statements to the press and all over the internet claiming that Green Party presidential candidate Cynthia MiKinney will not be participating in the Recreate '68 events."  We don't have room in the snapshot for Cynthia's statement in full (it'll go in one of tomorrow's morning entries) but here is the opening (and for space, paragraphs are going to run together):   As the United States activated Navy ships and the Air Force to begin an airlift of non-specified goods into the former Soviet state of Georgia, and military exercises began in the Persian Gulf near Iran, I received communications from certain individuals among the Colorado Greens who were organizing campaign support events there, suggesting that I not participate in an anti-war program being organized by other individuals in Colorado.  Perplexed, I began to do my research to understand the nature of the fissure that I seemed to be placing myself in the middle of.  The communications to me about not participating in one of the scheduled events became more and more shrill.  The events ran through August 26th.  When the lineup of speakers, including Rosa and me, was announced for the events in question, I received multiple communications stating in various ways that the sender from the Green Party of Colorado, was on the verge of desperation over the latter.   At this point Cynthia states that some Colorado Greens threatened her with stopping the ballot access efforts in Wyoming if she didn't agree not to appear and she was told, basically, 'We supported Elaine Brown and not you anyway, nah-nah-nah.' She then lists some of the people participating who have stood up regularly for what was needed before concluding:   Rosa and I have not been given any rational, ideological, or strategically-acceptable reason by the Green Party of Colorado to dissociate ourselves from the movement that this country so desperately needs and that these individuals and organizations participating represent, as we all attempt to hold the Democratic Party accountable for its complicity in all of the crimes of the Bush Administration.  Therefore Rosa and I will keep our appointments in Denver and we hope that the members of the Green Party of Colorado will attend our sessions and listen to what we have to say.  I have faith that by taking principled stands against war and occupation, human rights abuse, the prison-industrial complex, and in support of freedom for political prisoners, the Green Party will emerge stronger.   Finally, from Ralph's Daily Audio, here's today's "The Bloated Defense Budget:"   This is Ralph Nader.  Remember reading or hearing the farewell address of President Dwight Eisenhower? 1960, when he warned Americans about what he called "the military industrial complex."  Well, just a few words about where we are in the military budget.  It's now 1/2 of the entire federal government's operating expenditures.  It's way over $700 billion and that's not counting the money for helping our veterans.  Both Obama and McCain want to increase the military budget.  The Government Accountability Office yearly describes the gigantic Pentagon contracting budget unaduitable.  Just imagine, half of what the federal government spends in operating expenditures can't even be audited.  For example, people inside the Defense Department think that the F-22 should never have been contract for, built wasn't necessary. The Osprey helicopter -- defective, killed quite a few marines in test flights, shouldn't have been built in their judgment. Hundreds of billions of dollars are in the pipeline for weapons systems that were designed for the Soviet Union-era of hostility. They no longer have any strategic value and many of them are redundant.  We've got to cut the waste out of the huge military budget and put that money back into repairing America's public works and cities, towns and rural areas all over the country.  If we cut out the expenditures of keeping our soldiers out of Japan and Western Europe -- 60-plus years after WWII -- a portion of that money could give free education to all students in public universities in the United States. Think about it.  Think about who stands for a lean defense -- not a wasteful defense; who stands for respecting your tax payer dollar and returning it to you to improve the public facilities, schools and clinics, libraries, drinking water systems, sewage stream and plant upgrades among some of the deferred maintenance that's reducing the facilities that are necessary for a thriving community.     iraq jeremy hinzman erica goode the new york times ali hameed the washington post sudarsan raghavan the los angeles times ned parker saif hameed mcclatchy newspapers irwin loy stephen farrell sabrina tavernise karen deyoung

The above is a video from the War Resisters Support Campaign and it is Jeremy Hinzman, with his wife Nga Nguyen and their children Liam and Meghan, delivering a request to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Last Wednesday, US war resister Jeremy Hinzman was informed he had to leave Canada by September 32rd. Courage to Resist alerts, "Supporters are calling on Hon. Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, to intervene. Phone 613.996.4974 or email finley.d@parl.gc.ca,"Iraq Veterans Against the War also encourages people to take action, "To support Jeremy, call or email Hon. Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, and ask her to intervene in this case. Phone: 613.996.4974 email: finley.d@parl.gc.ca." In addition to that, Canada's War Resisters Support Campaign is staging an emergency meeting this week (August 20th, Wednesday, 7:00 pm, Steelworkers Hall at 25 Cecil St.) and planning a day of action (September 13th) where "[a]ctions, demonstrations and pickets will take place in cities and towns all across Canada."

In Iraq today, violence is already registering. Reuters notes a Baghdad roadside bombing which left four people (three are police officers) wounded, a Baghdad roadside bombing that left five people injured (three are police officers), a third Baghdad roadside bomb that left nine injured, a Mosul roadside bomb that left injured "three prison guards," 2 people shot dead outside Abul Khasib, 3 "militants" killed by Iraqi forces in Baghdad, and 1 Shi'ite cleric shot dead in Baghdad (his wife was left injured in the shooting).

Lynda e-mailed to note Ralph's Daily Audio, one that went up Saturday.



Good morning, this is Ralph Nader. As you know, Nader/Gonzalez is being blocked from the presidential debates. The corporate controlled so-called Commission on Presidential Debates will not let any independent candidate in unless they show 15% in a series of polls in September. That's no surprise. What is surprising is the failure of other debates to fill the vacuum. Part of this is due to Senator Obama's reluctance to engage his opponents.
On May 4th, Obama told Tim Russert on Meet The Press that he was willing to debate with "any of my opponents about what this country means, what makes it great." But earlier this month, Obama's campaign manager backed off, saying that Obama would debate only Senator McCain and only in the three rigged debates that's sponsored by the two parties and paid for by corporations.
Senator Obama's also refused to participate in a number of other debates including the Google debate in New Orleans, the Texas Ft. Hood debate that is being organized by veterans groups and the series of ten townhall meetings proposed by Senator McCain. Senator Obama's refusal to participate is a mistake and is costing him in the polls. Just yesterday, the Gallup tracking polls put McCain and Obama tied at 44% each. If Obama doesn't agree to more debates he could end up at the end of a sentence that starts out "Mondale, Dukakis, Gore and Kerry.
With only McCain and Obama on the stage , there will be no debate of key issues and redirections important to the American people . Just go down the partial list. Single-payer Medicare for all healthcare, supported by the majority of the American people, the majority of doctors and nurses, and just recently, unanimously, by the US conference of mayors? Obama says "no," McCain says "no." Reversing US policy in the Middle East? Obama says "no," McCain says "no." Cut the bloated, wasteful, redundant military budget? Obama says "no," McCain says "no." They want a bigger military budget. Empty the prisons of drug possessors and fill 'em up with corporate criminals? Obama says "no," McCain says "no." Nader-Gonzalez says "yes" to each.
The only way to change this systemic exclusion is for millions of Americans to become engaged now. If you can, please join with us at our two Super Rallies-- on August 27th in Denver at the University of Denver Magness Arena or September 4th in Minneapolis at Orchestra Hall. And help us raise the banner for all to see: "OPEN THE DEBATES."
If you are not able to attend, please go to VoteNader.org and donate now whatever you can up to the legal maximum of $4,600 to help fund our Open The Debates Campaign. Our goal is to raise $50,000 by Wednesday night. Last night, we were close to $14,000 in less than three days, but we have a ways to go. So join with us in Denver and Minneapolis if you can. We're planning to have some prominent activists and musicians with us. Stay tuned for more information on that. And we have some surprise, giant, inflatable visuals that should be a lot of fun, that will travel with us as we move from Denver to Minneapolis and then, hopefully, will bring attention to our Super Rallies from the press.
Thank you for your ongoing and considered support to our campaign. Together we are making a difference. Onward to November. I'm Ralph Nader.

Lynda had a few questions and they're good ones so let me answer quickly. 1) What's covered each week at Third and in Hilda's Mix in terms of the daily audio? In both, I will do transcripts through Friday and Friday only. Anything after, I'm happy to grab the following week. And anyone else can transcribe it (members without sites or members with websites) and it can go up on the weekend. Saturday's flying back home and then comes the nightmare writing edition for Third. For me, Friday's the cut-off date. 2) Jess spoke with Nader's Denver campaign office and nothing on that went up at Third? News to me. (Lynda's right.) That was included in every draft. I don't know who typed it up and don't need to because I know no one objected to that section. What most likely happened is that whomever got stuck typing that was tired and missed that section. I'll see if Jim can take a look at it, find that passage and add it today. [How tired was everyone? When I was doing "And the war drags on" last night and going through the e-mails, I saw Jonah's suggesting I "take a look at 'Truest statement of the Week I' and 'Truest statement of the Week II'" and I saw why he suggested that: they were the same statement. We'd posted John Walsh twice and not even noticed.] 3) Lynda thought it was strange we didn't include Ralph's commentary above in "Open Up The Debates!" yesterday. I don't know that anyone saw it/heard it. Ava, Kat, Wally and I hadn't. "Open Up The Debates!" is three features cobbled together (which may explain why Jess' section got dropped). The first is about John Edwards' 'advanced' views. Marcia especially wanted that as an article. The second was about opening the debates. The third was Ralph's audio commentaries. Everyone was tired and the three were forced together from various drafts. Opening the debates contained several paragraphs and I believe that's where the section on what Jess learned from calling the Denver headquarters was. The thing on Edwards' 'advanced' and 'evolving' views just wasn't working. Marcia worked like crazy (she wasn't the only one but she was the only one with the persistence to rally everyone for another try). Dona's the one who said, "_____ is the strongest point in this and it's about the debates, so how about we pair it with the open the debates feature." Everyone was fine with that and then Ty suggested we bring the week's audio commentaries in so that they were part of that article and not a stand-alone. Again, I'll let Jim know that the section on the Denver headquarters isn't in the article and he'll try to locate those paragraphs. Thank you, Lynda. (And thank you, Jonah.)

Friday morning, this was noted: "Kimberly Wilder encourages people to check out this video of Asa Gordon 'explaining his electoral college lawsuits' which is about 'proportional apportionment of presidential electors'." Fridays until Monday morning, we avoid videos here because it takes the site longer to load for many (who aren't checking in on work computers the way they do during the week). If you saw the link and were interested Friday but forgot to check it out, the video is below.



And the following press release is from July. Jenny noted it and wondered if it was too late to note it here? Probably but it's from Jason Wallace's campaign. He's the Green candidate for the US Congress out of Illinois' 11th district and he's also an IVAW member.

Veterans issues personal for Wallace

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, July 08, 2008

Contacts:
Tanya Austin, Campaign Manager, 309-532-3446, tanya.austin@electwallace.us

Brandon Punke, Media Relations Coordinator, 309-826-6605, media@electwallace.us

Normal, IL - Veterans issues are of key importance to 11^th Congressional district Green Party candidate Jason Wallace. Wallace, the only veteran in the race, is calling for several key changes in the government's approach to caring for those who have served in the United States military. These include changes in funding and coverage as well as his support for the idea of replacing Silver Cross in Joliet with a VA hospital.

Jason Wallace personally recognizes the frustrations that can be encountered by veterans when trying to obtain benefits. As a member of the Air National Guard, Jason was activated twice to serve in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom for a total of seventeen months. While serving in Kuwait, Jason volunteered for the base Honor Guard and earned the Air Force Meritorious Unit Award, Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with valor, and the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal. Wallace feels that his personal experience in the military gives him an advantage over his opponents in understanding the problems veterans encounter. Wallace commented that "while I appreciate the service of Debbie Halvorson's stepson in the armed forces, my own military career of six years has allowed me to personally experience the realities of the VA."

Wallace calls for complete, mandatory funding for the VA. This is an idea that is supported by voters in the district. According to a question posed on the February 5^th 2008 primary ballot in 23 counties, 1.14 million people voted yes when asked if the federal government should fully fund the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide care to those who were honorably discharged. Over ninety percent of voters in Lasalle and Grundy counties approved the referendum. Wallace added, "I will provide all of our veterans with free health care so that they can seek the medical care they need anywhere in the district, state, or country. Furthermore, while I support the idea of turning Silver Cross into a VA hospital, it would be useless if the system continues to be chronically under funded."

For more information on Jason Wallace, please visit http://www.electwallace.com/

I'll repeat my opinion (for however little that's worth), Jason Wallace should be supported and elected. Congress would be improved with his service and the 11th district would have a representative who truly wanted to work for and with them.

The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.

iraq
asa gordon
kimberly wilder
sickofitradlz
the daily jot
kats korner
the third estate sunday review
jason wallace

Last Wednesday, US war resister Jeremy Hinzman was informed he had to leave Canada by September 32rd. Careful readers of Jay Price's "Deserter may fare worse because of flight" (News Observer) will grasp why we ignored the bulk of Price's Iraqi 'reporting' when he was there. Those not paying attention will think Price did his job. They'll probably the include the visitors who used whine over and over that we're not this or that by Price. He knows how to take dictation (especially from the US military -- check out the last section but it's true of the entire article) very well. He just doesn't care about the details. (Does the name Agustin Aguayo mean anything? Not to Price. Which is how you get such a useless article.) Courage to Resist alerts, "Supporters are calling on Hon. Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, to intervene. Phone 613.996.4974 or email finley.d@parl.gc.ca,"Iraq Veterans Against the War also encourages people to take action, "To support Jeremy, call or email Hon. Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, and ask her to intervene in this case. Phone: 613.996.4974 email: finley.d@parl.gc.ca." In addition to that, Canada's War Resisters Support Campaign is staging an emergency meeting this week (August 20th, Wednesday, 7:00 pm, Steelworkers Hall at 25 Cecil St.) and planning a day of action (September 13th) where "[a]ctions, demonstrations and pickets will take place in cities and towns all across Canada." Irwin Loy (24 Hours Vancouver) reports:

An outspoken university professor who hopes to flip years in academia into a career in politics says he will push to protect deserting U.S. soldiers in Canada if elected with the left-of-centre NDP.
“I believe in a Canada that grants asylum to principled young Americans that said no to an illegal war,” UBC political science professor Michael Byers said yesterday after being acclaimed as the federal NDP candidate in the Vancouver-Centre riding.
U.S. soldier Jeremy Hinzman is believed to be the first Iraq war deserter to have sought sanctuary in Canada. He was ordered to leave the country last week after three years of court battles appealing an unsuccessful refugee claim.

Michael Byers has created a blog, click here.

They're just there to try and make the people free,
But the way that they're doing it, it don't seem like that to me.
Just more blood-letting and misery and tears
That this poor country's known for the last twenty years,
And the war drags on.
-- words and lyrics by Mick Softly (available on Donovan's Fairytale)

Last Sunday, ICCC's number of US troops killed in Iraq since the start of the illegal war hit the 4,138 mark. And tonight? ICCC reads: "Site Under Maintenance." I'm seeing no announcements by M-NF at their site, there were no annoucments yesterday so we will assume the death toll is what it was after Friday's announcements, 4143 since the start of the illegal war (16 for the month). Just Foreign Policy's counter estimates the number of Iraqis killed since the start of the illegal war to be 1,252,595 . . . the same number they were using last week. No, they haven't updated. Yes, they are apparently off today as well.

Meanwhile today at Aging Socialite's Cat Litter Box, Greg Mitchell types, "When the U.S. military death toll in Iraq dropped to 13 last month it received wide attention. But now, midway through August, the toll this month has already topped the July rate." Thanks Greggy, welcome to the room, Sara. From Wednesday's "Iraq snapshot:"

Wednesday, August 13, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, Miss Iraq calls out the sex trade, Jeremy Hinzman is told he's leaving, the US military announces another death leading August's death toll so far to surpass July's, and more.
[. . .]
Today the US military announced: "A Multi-National Division - Baghdad Soldier and an Iraqi interpreter were killed when the vehicle they were riding in was struck by an improvised-explosive device in northwest Baghdad at approximately 10:10 a.m. Aug. 13." With that announced death, the month of August (not even half over) has already passed the month of July for most US fatalities. The monthly toll thus far is 14 with 4141 the number killed since the start of the illegal war.

From Thursday morning's "14 US service members dead in Iraq so far this month:"

As July wound down and August began, you couldn't get away from the waves of Operation Happy Talk: Only 13 US service members killed in Iraq! August isn't at the half-way point. It is now August 14th and, not only have 14 US service members been announced dead thus far, it has now surpassed July's death toll. But no one's got time to cover that or to notice it apparently. It's really embarrassing and pathetic. So is the absence of coverage on Iraq in today's papers.


Not everyone is on some unnannounced vacation. Turning to some of the reported violence . . .

Bombings?

Hussein Kadhim (McCatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad grenade attack on a TV crew that wounded "[a] reporter, cameraman and driver," a Baghdad bomber on bicylce that claimed his/her own life as well as 5 other people (thirteen wounded) and a Salahuddin Province roadside bombing that left six people wounded. Saturday Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy) reported a Baghdad car bombing that claimed 6 lives and left ten people wounded and a Baghdad roadside bombing that wounded five people.

Shootings?

Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 1 man shot dead in Basra.

Corpses?

Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 1 corpse discovered in Baghdad.


A10 of today's New York Times is where Stephen Farrell's "6 Die in Bombing in Iraq, Third in 3 Days on Shiites" on Saturday. Farrell notes:

Three hours after the early-morning blast, shopkeepers, resident and survivors were still pulling charred goods and debris from damaged roadside stores, and sweeping ashes and wreckage into the gutter.
The attack followed a suicide bombing by a woman in Iskandariya on Thursday in which at least 18 were killed, and a car bombing that killed pilgrims at a bus garage in the northern city of Balad on Friday.


If you can find that online, great. I can't and I've looked around the site forever. It's 15 paragraphs long and Marko Georgiev's photo runs with it ("People tried to salvage goods from a store that was destroyed Saturday by a bombing in the Shaab neighborhood of Baghdad.") They do have an article by Erica Goode and Ali Hameed ("Suicide Bomber Kills 15 at a Sunni Mosque in Baghdad") on violence that's not covered elsewhere -- violence today unless the motor cyclist they describe is the bicyclist described by McClatchy. In which case the death count has risen from 6 to 15 (with 29 more wounded).

But the US military has good news! "Attacks down except roadside bombs, rigged houses"! So attacks are down . . . if you eliminate some of the attacks. The opening sentence: "The numbers of houses rigged with explosives and roadside bombs have increased since the beginning of the Iraqi offensive in Diyala, while other attack trends have been decreasing." Guess this wave of Operation Happy Talk should be dubbed "win some, lose some." M-NF also announces 37 women "attended the first day of a four-week course at the Kirkuk Police Academy outside of Kirkuk city" Saturday. Reuters reports the Turkish military says they bombed northern Iraq on Sunday ("no details of casualties"). Reuters also notes that six Blackwater mercenaries have been informed that their actions are under investigation. And that "police fired on demonstrators" today in Arbil killing one.

New content at Third:

Truest statement of the Week I
Truest statement of the Week II
A note to our readers
Editorial: Withdrawal can be done in 100 days
TV: Transformations
Jeremy Hinzman ordered to leave Canada
Open Up The Debates!
What If Feminists Were Swing Voters?
The race card, what's not feminism, and more
Catching on to the Peace Resister
Roundtable
Highlights
Where it stands

Isaiah had today off and Kat hoped to finish her CD review (just needs editing, she finished writing it on the plane Saturday) but Third took forever. The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.

iraq
and the war drags on
donovan
jeremy hinzman
irwin loy
the new york timesstephen farrell
jay price
mcclatchy newspapers
the third estate sunday review
iraq

US citizen Jeremy Hinzman who fled to Canada to avoid military service in Iraq will appeal a deportation warrant from Canada’s Border Services Agency (CBSA).
Thestar.com web site quotes defense team member Alyssa Manning who warned of the shattering results for the wife and two children for if court martialled Hinzmans he may get five years in jail.

The above is from Prensa Latina's "US Deserter to Appeal Canada Eviction." And that's pretty much it because Ruth Conniff can act like it's a crime that Bill Clinton wasn't a war resister but can't write one damn word about war resisters. She's far from alone in useless Panhandle Media.
Meanwwhile Reuters tries to make sense out of northern Iraq's claims that theyw ill pull their Peshmerga forces out of Diyala Province but then they won't. The US military announces that 3 people were killed (eight more wounded) in a Baghdad bombing today. And they announced:

An Article 32 pretrial investigation for Staff Sgt. Hal M. Warner, original scheduled for Aug.15 will begin Sept. 5 at Contingency Operating Base Speicher, near Tikrit.
Warner has been charged with pre-meditated murder, accessory after the fact, assault, making a false official statement and obstruction of justice. He is assigned to D Company, 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry at Forward Operating Base Summerall, near Bayji.
The charges followed a criminal investigation into the death of Ali Mansur Mohamed, a detainee initially believed to have been released by Coalition forces on or about May 16, 2008.

Bully Boy is on yet another vacation and back in Crawford. Dana Perino said in the Thursday White House breifing that he would be working on his speech for the GOP convention (told those wanting to know what was in it to "hold their horses") but he won't be rehearsing it, according to Perino. (Translation, he's not working on it all.) Condi Rice is supposed to arrive this morning in Crawford for an NSC meeting with Bully Boy, Robert Gates (Sec of Defense) and Stephen Hadley (NSA). (Some of whom will be 'present' via video-link.) Iraq fell off the radar last week and if you're surprised by that, you missed all the press conferences and briefings where things such as convention speeches could be the topics of question but Iraq wasn't judged (by the press itself) worth asking about.

Back to Jeremy Hinzman, this from Courage to Resist:

Jeremy Hinzman ordered deported from Canada
By Courage to Resist and War Resisters Support Campaign (Canada). August 13, 2008The first U.S. war resister to apply for refuge in Canada has been ordered deported by September 23rd. Jeremy is in Canada with his wife Nga Nuyen, and their two young children. This decision flies in the face of the motion adopted by Parliament on June 3, 2008 which calls on the government to allow US war resisters to apply for Permanent Resident status in Canada. Supporters are calling on Hon. Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, to intervene. Phone 613.996.4974 or email finley.d@parl.gc.ca

And this is the War Resisters Support Campaign:

Jeremy Hinzman ordered deported
The first U.S. war resister to apply for refuge in Canada has been ordered deported by September 23rd. Jeremy is in Canada with his wife Nga Nuyen, and their two young children.
This decision flies in the face of the motion adopted by Parliament on June 3, 2008 which calls on the government to allow US war resisters to apply for Permanent Resident status in Canada. It also rejects the will of Canadians who have demonstrated in various polls that they want war resisters to stay.
The War Resisters Support Campaign is calling on the federal government and the Hon. Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, to intervene to prevent the Hinzman family from being sent to the U.S. to be punished.

And from Iraq Veterans Against the War:

US Iraq War resister ordered deported from Canada
US Iraq War resister Jeremy Hinzman was informed on August 13th that his application to stay in Canada has been rejected. Jeremy served a tour in Afghanistan in a non-combat role after applying for conscientious objector status. When his unit, the 82nd Airborne Division, was to be deployed to Iraq Jeremy and his family decided to come to Canada. Jeremy is the first U.S. war resister to apply for refuge in Canada. He has been ordered to be deported by September 23rd. Jeremy is in Canada with his wife Nga Nuyen, and their two young children.
The decision to deport Hinzman comes just two months after the Canadian Parliament passed a motion calling on the government to allow US war resisters to apply for Permanent Resident status in Canada.
To support Jeremy, call or email Hon. Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, and ask her to intervene in this case. Phone: 613.996.4974 email: finley.d@parl.gc.ca.Read more of this item-->
Click here for more IVAW Updates

Since yesterday morning, the following community websites have updated:

Rebecca's Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude;
Cedric's Cedric's Big Mix;
Kat's Kat's Korner;
Betty's Thomas Friedman is a Great Man;
Mike's Mikey Likes It!;
Elaine's Like Maria Said Paz;
Wally's The Daily Jot;
Trina's Trina's Kitchen;
Ruth's Ruth's Report;
and Marcia's SICKOFITRADLZ

[Mike note: C.I. wrote these this morning and held them for after everyone posted in the community. I'm posting this for C.I. Cedric says he and Wally post in a few hours.]

The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.

iraq
jeremy hinzman
like maria said paz
kats korner
sex and politics and screeds and attitude
trinas kitchen
the daily jot
cedrics big mix
mikey likes it
thomas friedman is a great man
ruths report
sickofitradlz

A pickup truck exploded near the central bus station at Balad, a largely Shiite town in the overwhelmingly Sunni province of Salahuddin.
Witnesses speculated that the bomber had exploited a recent relaxation in security. “It is an attempt to blow up the atmosphere of reconciliation between the people of Balad and the other cities of Salahuddin and to make another wave of sectarian anger,” Col. Ali Saleh, a Salahuddin police spokesman, said.

The above is from Stephen Farrell and Suadad al-Salhy's "Truck Bomber Kills 9 as Shiite Pilgrims Travel Through Northern Iraq" in today's New York Times. And except for the wire services, that's pretty much it.

Community Member X (community members will know his name) asked that something be noted here. I'm calling him CMX because he usually sticks to the newsletter. As someone stationed in Korea who has only recently learned he deploys to Iraq next year, CMX wants it made very clear that he believes the press is doing "a s**t poor job and acting like the Iraq War ended." He notes that they are still on high alert (in Korea, over the perceived 'threat' of Iran) and that it's just started to sink in with others he's serving with that Barack's not just gotten a free pass, he's not going to do a damn thing to end the illegal war.

CMX is digsuted with the after-thought nature of the Iraq War and wants it noted "Katrina vanden Heuvel and all the beggars in indymedia and all the liars in corporate media are ensuring that a lot more people are going to die in that illegal war by their silences, their lies and their refusal to make ending this illegal war their top agenda. They have blood on their hands. They need to be called out and confronted. And the lies that Barack is planning to end the war need to be called out every damn day."

And that really says it all. Amanda notes this from Team Nader:

50 Dollars for 50 States
Posted by The Nader Team on Friday, August 15, 2008 at 10:04:00 AM
ShareThisShareThis
Ralph Nader is the only Presidential candidate who has promised to campaign in all 50 states this year.
In the age of the Internet, Ralph is a believer in taking it directly to the people.
State by state.
And whatever Ralph says goes.
So, we’ve put together a grueling fifty state schedule for him.
But the gas bill is starting to bite.
So, please, help us out.
Drop $50 now on Nader/Gonzalez, the only campaign that will take it to all fifty states.
Already, Ralph has campaigned in 27 states -- Washington, Oregon, California, Hawaii, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, Texas, Illinois, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine.
And coming up in the next couple of weeks, Ralph will be traveling to:
Colorado -- for our Open the Debates Super Rally August 27 at the University of Denver Magness Arena.
Minnesota -- for our Open the Debates Super Rally September 4 at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis.
And before and after those rallies to New Mexico, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan and Ohio. (That will put us at 34 states by September 8.)
Check the complete schedule here.
And come out and see and hear Ralph lay out the Nader/Gonzalez platform of shifting the power from the corporations back into the hands of the people.
Remember, if you donate $100 or more now, we will ship to you two DVDs -- a copy of the Patti Smith and Ralph Nader DVD -- Awake from Your Slumber -- autographed by Ralph -- and a copy of the best argument for a single payer health care plan -- Michael Moore’s Sicko. (Deadline for this offer: Wednesday August 20 at 11:59 p.m.)

So, give to your heart’s content -- up to the legal limit of $4,600.
Help power Ralph on his 50 state tour of the United States.
And help us reach our new fundraising goal of $50,000 by Wednesday August 20.
Nothing could be sweeter than investing in Nader/Gonzalez.
For a bright and just future.
Onward to November.
The Nader Team
ShareThisShareThis

The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.


iraq
the new york times
stephen farrell
suadad al-salhy

An American who deserted the U.S. Army to protest the Iraq War and who has been ordered deported back home will file a new appeal in Federal Court. Jeremy Hinzman is the first U.S. deserter in recent years to apply for refugee status in Canada. Immigration authorities determined that he did not face persecution or hardship if he were returned to the United States and told him on Wednesday he had until Sept. 23 to leave the country. He faces a possible court martial and up to five years in prison.

The above is from "Canada in Brief" (24 Hours Vancouver) and AP files another story where they quote Jeremy:

"I went through all the training. I served honorably in my unit. I used army provisions to try become a noncombatant and remain in the army as a medic or something, but I still would be subject to going on combat missions as a medic," Hinzman said.
"I can't bring myself to shoot another person. If people want to criticize me for that, then I'm honored to be criticized because I'm not a killer."


We'll again note this from Courage to Resist:

Jeremy Hinzman ordered deported from Canada

By Courage to Resist and War Resisters Support Campaign (Canada). August 13, 2008

The first U.S. war resister to apply for refuge in Canada has been ordered deported by September 23rd. Jeremy is in Canada with his wife Nga Nuyen, and their two young children. This decision flies in the face of the motion adopted by Parliament on June 3, 2008 which calls on the government to allow US war resisters to apply for Permanent Resident status in Canada. Supporters are calling on Hon. Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, to intervene. Phone 613.996.4974 or email finley.d@parl.gc.ca

And this is the War Resisters Support Campaign:

Jeremy Hinzman ordered deported

The first U.S. war resister to apply for refuge in Canada has been ordered deported by September 23rd. Jeremy is in Canada with his wife Nga Nuyen, and their two young children.

This decision flies in the face of the motion adopted by Parliament on June 3, 2008 which calls on the government to allow US war resisters to apply for Permanent Resident status in Canada. It also rejects the will of Canadians who have demonstrated in various polls that they want war resisters to stay.

The War Resisters Support Campaign is calling on the federal government and the Hon. Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, to intervene to prevent the Hinzman family from being sent to the U.S. to be punished.

And this from Iraq Veterans Against the War:

• US Iraq War resister ordered deported from Canada

  

  US Iraq War resister Jeremy Hinzman was informed on August 13th that his application to stay in Canada has been rejected. Jeremy served a tour in Afghanistan in a non-combat role after applying for conscientious objector status. When his unit, the 82nd Airborne Division, was to be deployed to Iraq Jeremy and his family decided to come to Canada. Jeremy is the first U.S. war resister to apply for refuge in Canada. He has been ordered to be deported by September 23rd. Jeremy is in Canada with his wife Nga Nuyen, and their two young children.

  The decision to deport Hinzman comes just two months after the Canadian Parliament passed a motion calling on the government to allow US war resisters to apply for Permanent Resident status in Canada.

  To support Jeremy, call or email Hon. Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, and ask her to intervene in this case. Phone: 613.996.4974 email: finley.d@parl.gc.ca.

  
  Read more of this item
  

Hinzman appears today on Democracy Now! and, in reply to a question about where he goes next, states that "if my lawyer can find errors in the . . . decision that the Canadian Border Services rendered than we can appeal"; however, he is preparing for what may be the return to the US. Amy Goodman wrongly states Robin Long was deported last month (he was extradited) and then asserts that he "is now serving a jail term in Colorado". Really? I must have missed Robin's court-martial -- which everyone says will take part in September.

In other DUMB ASS news, don't miss Janine Jackson's fact-free 'commentary' in CounterSpin this week. Remember, you just have to laugh. FAIR went off the rails some time ago (probably when they decided a few years back that a gala was just the thing to throw in the midst of a war? Bette Davis would have slapped their slack-jawed faces), so just laugh as Jackson sports Extreme Stupidity (and cites Village Idiot Air of The Nation). (We covered the reality of Mrytle Beach Tuesday.)

Jeremy Hinzman and Robin Long are two US war resisters who went to Canada. They are not the only ones. Darrell Anderson went to Canada and was the first to publicly return to the US. James Burmeister made the decision to return this year.


Evan Kornfeldt "Sentenced for resisting war" (US Socialist Worker):

On July 17, a military court sentenced James Burmeister to six months in prison for going AWOL. Burmeister, who fled to Canada last year rather than return to Iraq, suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Burmeister, originally from Eugene, Ore., went to Iraq in September of 2006 as a gunner in Unit 118 First Infantry Division. Burmeister took part in "small kill teams" that used "bait and kill" tactics.
[. . .]
The Eugene Weekly has pointed out that of the 4,698 soldiers who have been charged with desertion in 2007, only 108 have been convicted. Eric Burmeister, James' father, believes that his son was prosecuted as punishment for speaking out about the bait and kill teams.
After the trial, at which he testified on his son's behalf, he said, "I obviously now believe that James has been made an example to the rest of the soldiers and to the rest of those who dare think about what James did, that the punishment can be quite severe."
Eric Burmeister and his wife Helen have been speaking out about James' case and about the Iraq war. Eric told the Eugene Weekly, "I can never be quiet until they all come home. It seems like they are all my children now."


PBS notes. Tonight (in most markets, check local listings), Bill Moyers Journal addresses the imperial presidency with guest Andrew J. Bacevich. The Journal's Michael Winship notes:

Bacevich speaks truth to power, no matter who's in power, which may be why those of both the left and right are eager to hear his views. Perhaps it's also because when he challenges American myths and illusions, he does so from a genuine patriotism forged in the fire of his experiences as a soldier in Vietnam and the death a year ago of his son, an Army lieutenant in Iraq. The Limits of Power is dedicated to the young man but the senior Bacevich, a man of quiet, solid gravitas, holds his grief privately between himself and his family.
"Our foreign policy is something that is concocted in Washington, D.C., but it reflects the perceptions of our political elite about what we the people want," he told Moyers. "And what we want, by and large is... this continuing flow of very cheap consumer goods. We want to be able to pump gas into our cars regardless of how big they may happen to be... And we want to be able to do these things without having to think about whether or not the books are balanced at the end of the month, or the end of the fiscal year."
To that end, he says, "One of the ways we avoid confronting our refusal to balance the books is to rely increasingly on the projection of American military power around the world to try to maintain this dysfunctional system or set of arrangements that have evolved over the last 30 or 40 years."
"... I think historians a hundred years from now will puzzle over how it could be that the United States of America, the most powerful nation in the world, as far back as the early 1970’s came to recognize that dependence on foreign oil was a problem, posed a threat, compromised our freedom of action. How every president from Richard Nixon down... declared, 'We’re going to fix the problem.' [But] none of them did."
He continued, "The clearest statement of what I value is found in the Preamble to the Constitution. There is nothing in the Preamble to the Constitution which defines the purpose of the United States of America as remaking the world in our image, which I view as a fool's errand... I believe that the framers of the Constitution were primarily concerned with focusing on the way we live here, the way we order our affairs. To try to ensure that as individuals, we can have an opportunity to pursue our, perhaps, differing definitions of freedom, but also so that, as a community, we could live together in some kind of harmony. And that future generations would also be able to share in those same opportunities... With the current crisis in American foreign policy, unless we do change our ways, the likelihood that our children, our grandchildren, the next generation is going to enjoy the opportunities that we've had is very slight because we're squandering our power. We are squandering our wealth."
Bacevich believes, "The Congress, especially with regard to matters related to national security policy, has thrust power and authority to the executive branch. We have created an imperial presidency. The Congress no longer is able to articulate a vision of what is the common good. The Congress exists primarily to ensure the reelection of members of Congress."

PBS tonight (and throughout the weekend depending on when your local station airs it) will also feature Washington Week. Janine Zacharia (Bloomberg News) will be among the guests. She's been doing a ton of research on refugees so she should be able to pull that into her topic (the positions of Barack and McCain), Todd S. Purdum (Vanity Fair) will discuss the upcoming Democratic National Convention (will Gwen or anyone mention the Nadar Super Rally that will take place in Denver August 27th?), and Jeffrey Birnbaum (Washington Post) will be among the guests (Birnbuam will be addressing campaign monies and laws). And NOW on PBS explores the US and Mexican border.

Ralph's Daily Audio is the web page for the Nader-Gonzalez campaign featuring audio. Marci asked that we again note "Outsourcing:"



Along with the audio and the Nader Super Rally, the independent presidental campaign has a great deal of activity and movement. Sam notes this from Team Nader:

Health Care Politics

One of my favorite monthly publications is Registered Nurse – the journal of the fast growing, progressive California Nurses Association (CNA) – a union that stands up for patients rights and well-being.

The June 2008 issue contains stories that illustrate how this nurses group takes stands. On June 19, the CNA sponsored street rallies for its Medicare for all (single-payer with free choice of doctor and hospital) in San Francisco and a dozen other major cities around the nation. For over a decade these nurses have made full Medicare for all their major goal. They have run voter initiatives, lobbied legislatures and have opposed sweetheart labor-management deals like those embraced by the Service Employees International Union – SEIU. (SEIU also opposes single-payer health insurance which is supported by a majority of physicians and the American people.)

The June magazine describes the autocratic native of SEIU toward its members and how its leader, Andy Stern, cuts labor deals with large corporate employers that shockingly deprive workers of normal union rights.

Here is an example of what CNA says:

"In exchange for access to more dues units, SEIU gave California nursing home operators the 'exclusive right' to set all pay rates, working conditions, speed up and reassign work, eliminate jobs at will, and outsource union work."

"SEIU also agreed to support legislation limiting patient’s right to sue over care abuses, to oppose reforms to require better staffing for patients safety, and to never report health care code violations."

Stern rejected single-payer health insurance at his recent union convention. Senator Barack Obama has declined to propose single-payer as well. SEIU is pouring tens of millions of dollars to elect Senator Obama President. CNA works to eliminate "the insurance nightmare through establishing a high-quality, single payer healthcare system. (See: http://www.guaranteedhealthcare.org/blog)

The current health care industry is a wasteful, redundant, defrauding mess costing Americans over 2.2 trillion this year and hundreds of thousands of avoidable injuries, fatalities and serious infections a year. The honest, competent caregivers are on the edge of despair, unable to do their best work due to the domination and control of commercial-profit priorities which include denial of care by these corporations.

People die or get sicker sometimes when they are denied health care. People die when they cannot afford health insurance -- 18,000 Americans a year according to the Institute of Medicine

Corporate billing fraud and abuse costs over $200 billion a year. Ask Malcolm Sparrow of the Kennedy School at Harvard University or read his book License to Steal.

Do you ever hear John McCain or Barack Obama focus public attention on these tragedies and rip-offs of consumers and taxpayers?

The employers of health insurance companies, hospital chains and drug industry are pouring money into the coffers of these two men and their parties.

Strange as it many seem, on June 26, 2008 even the principled, independent California Nurses Association fell in line with the AFL-CIO. The CNA endorsed Senator Barack Obama.

Well, Senator Obama doesn't have to worry a minute about CNA's nurses putting up one of their famous critical demonstrations at his events. He can continue dialing for corporate dollars.

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Added: Kimberly Wilder encourages people to check out this video of Asa Gordon "explaining his electoral college lawsuits" which is about "proportional apportionment of presidential electors."



The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.

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This afternoon Jess spoke with Junue Millan who's part of the team working at Ralph Nader's just opened Denver office. The office's primary focus is the Super Nader Rally in Denver (August 27th, 7:oo pm) at the Magness Arena and they are very excited planning for a huge rally that they are expecting 5,000 to 7,000 people to turn out for. A rally of that sixe is not easy to plan and organize in such a short time and they need volunteers. If you're in the Denver area (or plan to be) and would like to volunteer the office is at 1155 Sherman Street, Suite 111. Walk-ins are fine. You can also call the office (303) 832-2509 or e-mail junue@votenader.org.

This is the first Nader Super Rally and will take place while the Democratic Party is holding their national convention in Denver as well. [ September 4th, a Nader Super Rally will be held at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis, during the GOP convention.] Ralph Nader and Matt Gonzalez will be at the Super Rally in Denver and there will also be guest speakers. The plan is to release the names of the guest speakers as the event approaches and the first name released is artist, activist and rocker Jello Biafra.

The point of both Nader Supper Rallies is to let the people put the issues on the table. Noting corporte crime, the Iraq War, singel-payer universal health care and other very real issues, Ralph Nader explained to Neal Conan yesterday on NPR's Talk of the Nation, "That's what we're saying to the American people: If you don't take it over, if you don't win your government back, if you don't vote for people you believe in who have a record of accomplishment and a good platform, which you can see on VoteNader.org, what's left for you to decide? I mean, these two parties don't represent you in area after area. Their drum is beaten by the big corporations." It's about putting the real issues on the table and confronting the two-party duopoloy which is attempting to limit the debate -- both in terms of candidates (just the Republican nominee and the Democratic nominee) and in terms of what can be discussed. You're not going to get issues with the debates being limited to two candidates. You're going to get safe blah-blah and every now and then someone will shake it up, like John Edwards in 2004 raising the issue of sex in the vice presidential debate. (And acting as if Dick Cheney's stance on gay Americans was so hideous -- the same John Edwards who declared in the YouTube/CNN Democratic presidential candidate debates this go-round that his high morals and Bible meant he couldn't support same-sex marriage. But in 2004, he was trying to play Mr. Englightened.) That's what you'll get with the two main parties. Blah-blah and easy attempts at hits and smears.

On Talk of the Nation, Ralph asked the very apt question, "Why do we want to ration the debates?" And we don't. America doesn't want to. The two major parties want to and they will get away with it until enough people start objecting. They will shut out Ralph and Bob Barr and Cynthia McKinney. They will use America's presidential debate as an informercial for the Republican and Democratic parties and cheapen the discourse. The best we'll be able to hope for -- as in 2004 -- is bloggers who fact check because the candidates aren't going to bother. That's why Dick Cheney could (and did) claim in the 2004 debate that he'd never met John Edwards before. John Edwards didn't correct him. It was the bloggers who questioned him, it was the bloggers who hunted down photos and posted them. If there's a better example of just how for-show the debates are when the Dems and Repubes limit who is invited, think of it. But if John Edwards isn't smart enough to know whether or not he's met Dick Cheney before, this idea that two major political parties are so wise and so informed flies right out the window.

As Ralph pointed out to Neil Conan about John McCain and Barack Obama, "And they really don't have a plan to get out of Iraq and they want to expand the Afghanistan War. " They don't. But how are people supposed to grasp that when actual presidential candidates (Bob, Cynthia and Ralph) calling for an end to the illegal war aren't allowed on stage? Oh sure, we'll have hacks like Katrina vanden Heuvel insist John McCain is the root of all evil while Barack pees rainbows, that we have to 'trust' our 'hearts' and just know that, despite what Barack's actually saying, if he's elected there will be some miracle transformation that will make Barack want to end the illegal war. Yeah, and maybe that miracle will spread and Katrina will be gifted with a functioning brain? I wouldn't advise that you bet money on either option.

What we'll have is Blah-Blah and, the day after, the likes of Katrina will show up to insist something amazing took place. They'll spin. The hideous Rachel Maddow will spin like crazy. John Edwards clearly lost the debate with Dick Cheney in 2004. The day after, Mike Papantonio noted that reality, noted how disappointing Edwards was, pointed out that the v.p. candidates are always supposed to hit hard, that Edwards was a lawyer and didn't hit hard. And Rachel had an on air tear-fest and began badgering Papantonio to change his opinion. At the end he was offering a very weak okay-okay.

Outside of his own family, it's doubtful anyone's rooted for Dick Cheney in many, many years. But if the reality is that Edwards lost to the Black Hole, that's the reality. Maddow couldn't handle it. War Hawk Maddow (she spent years on Air America Radio arguing against withdrawal and offering the false analogy of the Pottery Barn -- even after it was known to be false -- as her 'reasoning') is now being cheered by The Nation (Hillary Hatred pays off!). That's your indication of the 'level' of discourse 'alternative' media is going to be serving up.

To have a real discussion about the Iraq War or any other issue, we need to have all the presidential candidates up on stage.

As Ron Jacobs (Dissident Voice) points out, "Good thing there’s an election coming up. Once Bush is gone, the world will get better. Won’t it? At least one of the candidates has to be against all this war and threats of war, right? Maybe Obama is just playing the game when he promises fealty to Tel Aviv. Maybe he doesn’t mean it when he sounds like Bush in regards to Iran. Maybe he’ll listen to the American people (and not the generals) after he gets elected and bring the troops back from Iraq by the end of 2009." That's the candidate who's going to represent the 'anti-war' position on stage?

No. And that's insane. The American people turned on the illegal war in 2005. The majority is still agains the illegal war. In American democracy we are supposed to recognize and foster the minority viewpoints. But we are not supposed to render majority opinion invisible. That's what's going to happen if the duopoly is not broken in the upcoming debates. The majority of Americans will be rendered voiceless.

As a sidebar, Ron brings up the payment issue in his article. The puppet government should be paying and no reperations need to be made to it. It is not a government of the people. Nouri al-Maliki is the DC puppet. He's installed. He sits on millions of Iraqi monies and refuses to spend it to help the Iraqi people. Making him pay is what should happen right now because his government is illegitimate. He wants to be a puppet, let him pay. It's not taking money from the Iraqi people because he's not spending it on them. While he can't use the funds for reconstruction or improving the people's lives, he can (and did last month) go on a huge weapons shopping spree. Joe Biden pointed out reality in April: The US is spending a ton of money to prop up a government that is not legitimate in the eyes of the Iraqi people and we're supporting their war on the Iraqi people.

Reperations need to be made by the US government. No question. But to a real government, a legitimate one that represents the Iraqi people, not the interests of the White House. The US needs to withdraw from Iraq immediately. But neither presumed candidate John McCain or Barack Obama supports that. As long as the installed puppet is kept in power, the puppet should have to pay for it. It's not taking money that would be spent on the Iraqi people because al-Maliki's refusal to spend that money did not start this year. It's been characteristic of his entire term.

Robert Fisk gets right to the point in "New actor on the same old stage" (Independent of London):

But this dreary old stage play doesn't end there. No one follows the narrative any more because it is so repetitive. Take Nouri al-Maliki, the PMIGZ -- Prime Minister of the Iraqi Green Zone -- who's suddenly gone from being the Democrats' favourite target to being their election buddy-buddy, as Max Boot sagely noted in The Washington Post. Maliki suggested to Obama that Iraq will be ready to assume responsibility for its own security by 2010. Bingo. This chimes in perfectly with Obama's promises.
But wait a minute. In May, 2006, Maliki announced that "our forces are capable of taking over the security in all Iraqi provinces within a year and a half". Five months later, the PMIGZ said that it would be "only a matter of months" before Iraqi security forces "take over the security portfolio entirely and keep some (sic) multinational forces only in a supporting role". Then in January, 2007, Maliki boasted that "within three to six months our need for the American troops will dramatically go down".
Four months later, he was at it again, claiming that Iraqi forces would control all security "in every province" within eight months. Quite apart from the idea that there is a security "portfolio" in Iraq, his own military chums don't agree with any of this bumph. The PMIGZ's own defence minister claims his forces can't assume responsibility until 2012, while the Iraqi commander in Basra wants US troops to stay until 2020!
Even if we ignore all this drivel, what does Obama want to do with his soldiers once he withdraws them from Iraq? He's going to send the poor devils back to Afghanistan, that graveyard of foreign armies where the Taliban were so utterly defeated in 2001 that they are now stronger than ever. I would recommend that Obama glance through Appendix XXIV of the official British account of the 1878-80 Second Afghan War where he will find the British announcing victory over a massed Afghan force which included a fierce group of fighters known as "talibs". These men would choose a particular soldier in the British ranks and make a suicidal attack to seize him and cut his throat in front of his comrades.

Now maybe if Robert Fisk was moderating the debates, some light of truth could shine in. But he's not moderating. And if we all we have is McCain and Obama, we don't have much of a debate. (Though Barack will no doubt continue his stammering and fumbling uh-uh-uh speech pattern.) America deserves better and democracy deserves better. The people have a right to see all the candidates up on stage, to hear what they stand for and what they don't. The people have a right to make an informed decision. Hype doesn't end the illegal war.

It's over, I'm done writing songs about love
There's a war going on
So I'm holding my gun with a strap and a glove
And I'm writing a song about war
And it goes
Na na na na na na na
I hate the war
Na na na na na na na
I hate the war
Na na na na na na na
I hate the war
Oh oh oh oh
-- "I Hate The War" (written by Greg Goldberg, on The Ballet's Mattachine!)

Last Thursday, ICCC's number of US troops killed in Iraq since the start of the illegal war was 4134. Tonight? 4141. That's seven more and, yes, M-NF only released four death announcements (they let DoD 'make the announcements' for the others). Just Foreign Policy lists 1,252,595 as the number of Iraqis killed up from 1,251,944 last week.

Michael Winship's latest essay is entitled "America and the World" (Bill Moyers Journal):

In a letter written in 1648, the Swedish statesman, Axel Oxenstierna, chancellor to both King Gustavus Adolphus and Queen Christina, counseled, "Know, my son, with how little wisdom the world is governed."
The fighting between Russia and the former Soviet republic of Georgia is an unnerving reminder of that, and of how quickly the balance of global power can be tilted from unexpected directions with barely a warning.
Some hawks and neo-cons called for NATO intervention or even suggested we send in Stinger missiles or the 82nd Airborne as a peacekeeping force. President Bush warned, "Russia has invaded a sovereign neighboring state and threatens a democratic government elected by its people. Such an action is unacceptable in the 21st century."
Perhaps, but the reality of the early 21st century is that, in the short run, at least, the president’s words ring hollow. In spite of past promises of support to Georgia, Russia is key to our efforts in the Middle East and our European allies are dependent on Russia for energy. The invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq have both our military strength and our international credibility stretched perilously thin at a time when oil-rich Russia is reemerging as a superpower. We’ve boxed ourselves in.
It was in that light that I came upon the Oxenstierna quote the other night, while re-reading the late historian Barbara Tuchman’s The March of Folly, a knowing compendium, from ancient Troy to Vietnam, of the ways in which, given half a chance, those in power will steer their ships of state straight into the rocks. In the first chapter, she also quotes American President John Adams: "While all other sciences have advanced" -- you can almost hear him sighing -- "government is at a stand; little better practiced now than three or four thousand years ago."
Andrew J. Bacevich probably would agree with all of the above. The retired Army colonel, a West Point graduate, teaches history and international relations at Boston University. His latest book, The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism, explores our nation’s current predicament, not just on the world stage but here at home as well. He spoke with my colleague Bill Moyers on this week's edition of the PBS series Bill Moyers Journal.
Bacevich speaks truth to power, no matter who's in power, which may be why those of both the left and right are eager to hear his views. Perhaps it's also because when he challenges American myths and illusions, he does so from a genuine patriotism forged in the fire of his experiences as a soldier in Vietnam and the death a year ago of his son, an Army lieutenant in Iraq. The Limits of Power is dedicated to the young man but the senior Bacevich, a man of quiet, solid gravitas, holds his grief privately between himself and his family.
"Our foreign policy is something that is concocted in Washington, D.C., but it reflects the perceptions of our political elite about what we the people want," he told Moyers. "And what we want, by and large is... this continuing flow of very cheap consumer goods. We want to be able to pump gas into our cars regardless of how big they may happen to be... And we want to be able to do these things without having to think about whether or not the books are balanced at the end of the month, or the end of the fiscal year."
To that end, he says, "One of the ways we avoid confronting our refusal to balance the books is to rely increasingly on the projection of American military power around the world to try to maintain this dysfunctional system or set of arrangements that have evolved over the last 30 or 40 years."
"... I think historians a hundred years from now will puzzle over how it could be that the United States of America, the most powerful nation in the world, as far back as the early 1970’s came to recognize that dependence on foreign oil was a problem, posed a threat, compromised our freedom of action. How every president from Richard Nixon down... declared, 'We’re going to fix the problem.' [But] none of them did."
He continued, "The clearest statement of what I value is found in the Preamble to the Constitution. There is nothing in the Preamble to the Constitution which defines the purpose of the United States of America as remaking the world in our image, which I view as a fool's errand... I believe that the framers of the Constitution were primarily concerned with focusing on the way we live here, the way we order our affairs. To try to ensure that as individuals, we can have an opportunity to pursue our, perhaps, differing definitions of freedom, but also so that, as a community, we could live together in some kind of harmony. And that future generations would also be able to share in those same opportunities... With the current crisis in American foreign policy, unless we do change our ways, the likelihood that our children, our grandchildren, the next generation is going to enjoy the opportunities that we've had is very slight because we're squandering our power. We are squandering our wealth."
Bacevich believes, "The Congress, especially with regard to matters related to national security policy, has thrust power and authority to the executive branch. We have created an imperial presidency. The Congress no longer is able to articulate a vision of what is the common good. The Congress exists primarily to ensure the reelection of members of Congress."
That imperial presidency, he says, "has made our democracy a false one. We're going through the motions of a democratic political system. But the fabric of democracy, I think, really has worn very thin."
Iraq, Bacevich concludes, "was a fundamental mistake. It never should have been undertaken. And we're never going to do this kind of thing again." This might, he thinks, "be the moment when we look ourselves in the mirror [and]... see what we have become. And perhaps undertake an effort to make those changes in the American way of life that will enable us to preserve for future generations that which we value most about the American way of life."
Andrew Bacevich's words should echo down the corridors of Congress and the halls of the White House, no matter who becomes our next President.

Friday (in most markets, check local listings), Bill Moyers sits down with Andrew Bacevich to discuss the imperial impresidency. And I think Billie's local station is no longer in pledge drive mode but somewhere some PBS may be. If it is, you can always stream video or audio or read transcripts (or podcast) at Bill Moyers Journal online.


The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.

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