Re: An Open Letter to Howard Dean- tell it, Dennis!

Psalm 98:  9The Lord cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity.

 

Dennis has not lost his righteous judgment about the invasion of Iraq, nor should we. 

 

In the name of the Prince of Peace,  Carol Wolman

----- Original Message -----

From: Dennis Kucinich

To: carol wolman

Sent: Wednesday, May 04, 2005 1:40 PM

Subject: An Open Letter to Howard Dean

An Open Letter to Howard Dean

Speaking before an ACLU crowd last week in Minnesota, the home state of Paul Wellstone, you were quoted as saying, "Now that we're there [in Iraq], we're there and we can't get out.... I hope the President is incredibly successful with his policy now." Did these words really come from the same man who claimed to represent the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party, and who had recently campaigned on the antiwar theme? What's changed?

Perhaps you now believe that an electoral victory for Democrats in 2006 and beyond requires sweeping this war under the rug. If so, you are only the latest in a long line of recent Democratic leaders who chose a strategy of letting "no light show" between Democrats and the President on the war. Emphasize the economy, instead, they advised, in 2002 and again in 2004.

Following this advice has kept us in the minority. During the 2002 election cycle, when Democrats felt they had historical precedent on their side (the President's party always loses seats in the midterm election), the Democratic leadership in Congress cut a deal with the President to bring the war resolution to a vote, and appeared with him in a Rose Garden ceremony. The "no light" strategy yielded a historic result: For the first time since Franklin Roosevelt, a President increased his majorities in both houses of Congress during a recession.

The President went into the 2004 election with tremendous vulnerability on the war, which the Democratic Party again sacrificed: by avoiding the issue of withdrawal from Iraq in the party platform, omitting it from campaign speeches and deleting it from the national convention.

Why does failure surely follow from sweeping the war and occupation under the rug? Because the war is one of the most potent political scandals of all time, and it has energized grassroots activity like few others.

President Bush led the country into war based on false information, falsified threats and a fictitious estimate of the consequences. His war and the continuing occupation transformed Iraq into a training ground for jihadists who want to hunt Americans, and a cause célèbre for stoking resentment in the Muslim world. His war and occupation squandered the abundant good will felt by the world for America after our losses of September 11. He enriched his cronies at Halliburton and other private interests through the occupation. And he diverted our attention and abilities away from apprehending the masterminds of the September 11 attack; instead, we are mired in occupation. The President's war and occupation in Iraq has already cost $125 billion, nearly 1,600 American lives, more than 11,000 American casualties and the lives of tens of thousands of Iraqis. The occupation has been more costly in this regard than the war.

There is no end in sight for the occupation of Iraq. The President says we will stay until we're finished. A recent report by the Congressional Research Service concluded that the United States is probably building permanent military bases in Iraq. The President refuses to consider an exit strategy. The Republican Congress gives the President whatever he asks for.

We can draw no clearer distinction with the President than over this war. He cannot right a wrong (unjustified war) by perpetuating a military occupation. Military victory there is not possible. General Tommy Franks concedes that. The war will end when we say it's over. The Democratic leadership should be pressing for quick withdrawal of all troops from Iraq.

That's what most Democrats want, too. Your performance in the early stages of the primary, and your recent chairmanship of the party, were made possible by many, many progressive and liberal Democrats. It was their hope and expectation that you would prevent the party from repeating its past drift to the Republican-lite center. They hoped that this time the party would not abandon them or its core beliefs again.

Yet you say that you hope the President succeeds. With no pressure exerted from the leadership of the Democratic Party, the past threatens to repeat itself in 2006. We may not leave Iraq or our minority status in Washington for a long time to come.

Dennis J. Kucinich

Link to this letter as published in The Nation

Insight and Action on Iraq: http://www.kucinich.us/insight/iraq

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Tolerating the Truth by Carol Wolman

(If you asked to get off my list in the past month and receive this, please ask me again.  I had to reinstall my address book, and my only copy is a month old- sorry.)

Tolerating the Truth by Carol Wolman

John 16:12-15   ¹²I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.  ¹³Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth.

The truth is that the fate of life on planet earth is hanging by a thread.  Massive climate change, exhaustion of resources, massive pollution- especially radioactive pollution-, are threatening the biosphere. 

The situation has become much worse since the ascension to the throne of George W. Bush.  His popular base consists more and more narrowly of the "radical religious right".  They make up in zeal what they lack in numbers.  They are ruthlessly aggressive in furthering their agenda, which is to hasten the destruction of life on earth in order to bring about the Second Coming.  They can't wait to join Jesus in the New Heaven and the New Earth.

This suicidal psychotic fantasy, the rapture cult, is fostered by "Christian" hatemongers who are close to the Bush White House.  We are looking at an unholy trinity prophesied in the Book of Revelation- the beast (corporations), the dragon (the US military) and the false prophets (the promoters of the rapture cult).  While the faithful wait for pie in the sky, the robber barons are plundering what's left of the planet.  It's an old trick, and people still fall for it.

The truth is that Jesus has been hijacked and turned into a logo by the rapture cultists.  They have surrounded His name with emotionally appealing false doctrines that have no basis in scripture- antiabortion, anti gay marriage, the rapture- and abuse His name to intimidate followers and opponents alike. 

I have been called satan  for daring to disagree with them, although no one can contest my devotion to bringing the Bible to the peacemakers.

The truth is that the way to peace on earth lies with the Prince of Peace.  The swamis acknowledge Him as one of them, the greatest of all.  The Muslims acknowledge Him as a great teacher and prophet.  The Buddhists recognize Him as a manifestation of the compassionate Buddha.  Gandhi incorporated His teachings into his nonviolent politics.  New Agers talk about Christ consciousness.  Everyone on the planet has heard of Jesus by now, and is inspired, to some degree, by His story.

Jesus taught the law of love.  He made His reputation by healing people and raising them from the dead.  He upheld marriage and protected children.  He fed people, body and soul.  He loved life, promoted life, said He was the life.

Life, not death.  The most heinous crime of the unholy trinity is their blasphemy, presenting Jesus as a deity of wrath and destruction, and blocking His true followers from connecting with the Prince of Peace.  How many of the unbelievers have been put off by the tyranny, the stupidity, the venality of the churches, and their alliance with the corporados?

The truth is that we must find a way to reclaim Jesus and the Bible for the peacemakers, the sustainers of life on earth.  We must start to see ourselves as peaceful warriors in the army of the Prince of Peace, as we fight for a habitable planet for our descendants. 

Can we tolerate the truth?  We need Jesus if we are to win this battle of Armageddon.  We need His words of truth, we need His wisdom and courage.  We need His example of self-sacrifice, so that we may have the strength needed to defeat the kings of the earth and their armies, allied with the corporate monster.

In the name of the Prince of Peace,  Carol Wolman