They Did What !

There is an interesting editorial in the November-December Mother Jones magazine about the moral dilemma of leaving Iraq. You can read it at
http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2007/11/iraq-war-index.html

One of the points the editorial makes is the responsibility we all bear for what has happened in Iraq – a responsibility that gives us an obligation to consider the consequences of how and when we leave. Just as all of Germany and Japan bear the blame for their countries' actions in World War II, so also must all of America own what our government does in our name.

Even those of us who opposed the war from the beginning, or came to oppose it after the fact have to share this responsibility. Through our votes or refusal to vote, We The People put in place the President and Vice President who lied us into this war as well as the legislators who authorized it. And even now we continue to accept their actions or lack thereof, whether we agree with them or not.

Isn’t it time for us to make a choice? We can choose to just continue complaining to one another about the administration and congress; or we can choose to start using the power of our numbers to do something about it.

Think what would happen if just one tenth of us started writing, calling, and emailing each of our legislators once a week to let them know what we think about what they are doing or not doing. That would be 30 million voices flooding Washington every week with praise for the good and strong objections to the erroneous and the undone. Now that would be a force to be reckoned with!

It wouldn’t take much on anyone’s part to accomplish this. If we each convince three people to commit to such weekly action and those three each convince three more who in turn each convince three more… in no time the force would be with us.

The calls, letters and emails could and should be short and to the point. “Thanks for your action regarding so and so.” Or “I disagree strongly with your view on so and so.” You don’t need to be a great writer or orator, just a frequent one. To get the biggest bang for our buck, the messages must stream in week after week so they understand we are paying attention and mean to stay on their tails.

For those of you who are so busy you just haven’t been able to find the time to get involved – understand that we are running out of time. As English author, Charles Buxton said, “You will never ‘find’ time for anything. If you want time you must make it.” Look at your life - if something is important to you, you always make time for it.

This is important to all of us. If we don’t get our country back on track, our lives will change drastically and not for the better. If you think you can just wait and somebody else will do it, look around. Do you see somebody else doing it? You are the somebody who needs to do it and now is the time it needs doing.

Posted by Trish Purcell at 10:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

There is an interesting quote from David Addington, Cheney’s chief of staff, printed in the Masthead of the October Hightower Lowdown.:

“We’re going to push and push and push until some larger force makes us stop.”

And that is exactly what Addington and Cheney have done - pushed and pushed and pushed to impose an imperial presidency on our country. The Lowdowner article points out that We The People are the “larger force” that can make them stop.

Hightower talks about a Harper’s Magazine article by Garret Keizer (www.harpers.org) that suggests a general strike of the people, not unions, just ordinary people like you and me. Keizer says:

“The question we need to ask ourselves at this moment is what further provocations we require to justify digging in our heels…. It is one thing to endure abuses and to carry on in spite of them. It is quite another thing to carry on to the point of abetting the abuse.”

He suggests that on the symbolic day of the second Tuesday in November, (Nov. 6) we stay home from work, don’t go to the mall, or the bank, or the grocery store, or use our credit cards, or participate in any commercial transactions that day. What better way to let the corporations and this pro-corporate president know that we have had enough and that business as usual is not acceptable. As Hightower puts it:

“On one level, the strike is against the war, against Bush thumbing his nose at the American majority… and against the Democratic leadership that can’t seem to muster the will to rein in the Bush administration. On another level, however, this is a strike for the Constitution, a strike against the betrayal of the rule of law and our democratic ideals. It’s a strike for the America we thought this was. It’s an affirmation that the people are the only “larger force” that can stop the Bush-Cheney coup and make America whole again.”

If you are ready to do more than just complain, ready to stand up and be counted as a supporter of the real America and the Constitution, then pass the word about participating in this general strike. Talk to your friends and family and encourage them to pass the word. Even if there is some part of the strike that is impossible for you, participate in the rest of it. If we don’t take a stand, then George Bush is the president we deserve.

Posted by Trish Purcell at 09:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

No matter how much we might disagree about politics, ideology, even lifestyle, there is one place where we must all surely agree. That is that our American heritage - our country and the Constitution that has given us our way of life - must come before all other issues.

No temporary gain, no matter how important it may seem at the time, is worth the risk of undermining the protections set out in the Constitution. These protections have allowed our Democratic Republic to flourish for over 200 years. Throughout those years, wise men have warned us that we must be vigilant and not take for granted the freedoms we enjoy. Now is the time to heed these warnings because we can see them evidenced by what is happening in our country today.

Benjamin Franklin warned that the Republic would last about 200 years before greed took over and destroyed it. Do you see evidence that greed is tearing the fabric of our society? Isn’t it there in the financial scandals like Enron and WorldCom; in the subprime mortgage crisis that is bringing our current economy down; in the outsourcing of manufacturing resulting in lead in our children’s toys, poison in our pet’s food, and a growing lack of confidence in our food supplies?

Franklin Roosevelt, when our country was threatened, told us that we had nothing to fear but fear itself. Do you see evidence that fear is the impetus for allowing us to go against the most basic beliefs that we as a country stand for? Isn’t it there in our complicity by silence in the suspension of habeas corpus; in the acceptance of torture as necessary; in allowing our government to claim it must break the law in order to save us?

Dwight D. Eisenhower warned us about the military industrial complex: when he said, “We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together. “

Do you see evidence that liberty is suffering in the name of security? Isn’t it there in the warrantless spying and abuse of national security letters; in the use of signing statements to hijack the Legislator’s constitutional authority to make the laws for our country; in the excessive misuse of executive privilege to thwart the constitutional authority of Congress to executive oversight?

If we continue to allow greed, fear and the might of the military industrial complex to decimate our Constitution, we will wind up with an America that resembles other “Democracies” like Russia and Pakistan but bears little resemblance to the Democratic Republic we have known and loved these past 200 years.

Posted by Trish Purcell at 01:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

ABOUT BLACKWATER: The congressional investigation found that Blackwater charges the government $1,222 per day for each private military operative - more than six times the wage of an equivalent soldier. In addition, an audit in 2005 by the State Department's inspector general found Blackwater was charging separately for "drivers" and "security specialists" who were, in fact, the same people.

So I’m wondering , since offering a signing bonus has worked so well in recruiting, how much larger our volunteer military might be if we paid them, say triple their current wages? On the pro side that would cost taxpayers half what we are paying Blackwater; it would put our military actions back in the hands of our military solving the accountability problems; it would eliminate an area of friction between Iraqi civilians and the U.S. presence in their country. On the con side…??? Hmmm I can’t think of anything.

ABOUT THE SCHIP BILL VETO: President Bush says the new Schip bill would take “a program meant to help poor children and turn it into one that covers children in households with incomes of up to $83,000 a year.” However, the nonpartisan Urban Institute says this is not true. Citing the worst case scenario as though it would be the norm is a manipulative technique. The bill does allow coverage of children in some middle-income families but this is not new, present law already does this. With the new bill, 70 percent of children would still be from families with incomes less than $40,000, the institute said. Most of the rest would be from families with incomes less than $62,000.

So I’m wondering how Bush has the colossal gall to object, “on principle” no less, to spending $32 billion over five years for health care for these kids. And I am really wondering, since the bill has bipartisan support, if the people will allow their representatives to refuse to override his veto. This President is a man who has never had to worry about paying for his health care; has racked up the largest deficit in our country’s history; and continues to spend billions off-budget on a war the majority of the people he serves do not agree with. Doesn't that make his “principles” seem a little selective and a lot off kilter?

ABOUT HILARY CLINTON’S EXPERIENCE: Presidential candidate Hilary Clinton keeps claiming that she is more experienced than her fellow candidates. This theme has run through her speeches and debates since the beginning of her primary campaign. Her experience is the reason she gives for why she, more than any other Democratic candidate, is best suited to be our next President.

So I’m wondering just what experience she is talking about. Her experience as wife of the President? Her experience as a lawyer? Her experience as a Junior Senator? Hilary’s experience as First Lady does not qualify her to be President anymore than being the wife of a CEO qualifies a woman to run a company. I’m not sure experience as a lawyer is a positive thing but even if it is, her experience in that field is not only met but exceeded by some of her opponents. Her Senate experience is not that much greater than Obama’s or Edward’s. The only place Hilary is truly more experienced is in Washington-insider game playing. If we truly want change in Washington, that kind of experience is not an asset.

Posted by Trish Purcell at 11:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)

There seems to be a trend in our society toward leveling off at the lowest common denominator instead of stretching to reach the highest common denominator. How did that happen? When I was growing up, it seemed like everyone wanted to “better” themselves. Parents wanted their children to be better and do better than they had done, and the kids themselves strove for improvement.

Now, there is a “push the envelop” mentality that encourages people, regardless of where they are or who they are with, to ignore social customs and just do anything they feel like doing and say anything they want to say. This appears to have developed slowly, one step at a time. The individual steps sounded good - being yourself, being comfortable, being natural, being honest. In theory all these ideas sound good. In practice, as with all good things when taken too far, the result is not so good.

“Being yourself” became an excuse for accepting yourself without thought about any possible need for improvement. That allowed poor grammar, foul language, ignorance and prejudice to become badges of honor instead of things which need correction.

“Being comfortable” became an excuse for dressing any old way without respect for the places you go or other people who are there. That allowed dressing up to all but disappear from average lives and with it, the effect that dressing up has on people. Studies have shown that there is a connection between how we dress and how we behave.

“Being natural” became an excuse for doing whatever comes naturally without regard for common courtesy, or protocol of any kind. This allowed proper etiquette and just ordinary good manners to fade away and common and crass behavior to become the norm.

“Being honest” became an excuse for saying anything to anyone without thought of appropriateness of time, place or position. This caused civility to decline and in some cases disappear from the political scene, social situations, and our day to day dealings with each other.

It is possible to be yourself, comfortable, natural and honest without being rude, crude, and thoughtless. But until people once again recognize, that foul language indicates the lack of a reasonable vocabulary not honesty or any other virtue; and that rudeness is an example of ignorance not a point of pride, our society will continue to sink into a coarseness that is not only unattractive but totally unnecessary given the opportunities our country offers.

Posted by Trish Purcell at 01:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)