[Peace-discuss] John Kerry

[C. G. Estabrook]

Absolutely.  But here's a recent comment by Chomsky on the truly awful
Kerry:

"...it's an interesting snapshot of American political culture.  The two
candidates both come from backgrounds of great wealth, extensive political
connections.  Both went to Yale.  Both joined the same secret society at
Yale.  That's the range of choices that we have!  But there is some
difference between them -- I don't think a very great difference, just as
there is very little range within the corporate-run political spectrum
altogether.  But there is some difference, and in a system of tremendous
power, small difference can translate into large effects.  So those small
differences do matter.  But the real problem is to dismantle and undermine
the entire system of completely illegitimate nomination.

"The people around Bush happen to be an unusually fanatical, extreme,
arrogant and incompetent group, and they're very dangerous.  But it's a
small group, and they barely hold political power.  And they're
frightening people, including the traditional conservatives, because
they're such extreme, radical, nationalist fanatics.  And Kerry doesn't
come from that background, he leans more towards the normal center.  But
they're very dangerous.  I think that with another four-year mandate, they
might do not only severe, but maybe irremediable damage to the world."


On Mon, 23 Feb 2004, Morton K.Brussel wrote:

> FYI. A sickening statement--, reproduced from CounterPunch, derived
> from a student publication at Brown U. The date is not given.
> 
> MKB
> 
> "The  Cause of Israel is the Cause of America"
> 
> By SEN. JOHN KERRY
> 
> Editors' Note: We  offer this unfettered pledge of fealty to Israel by 
> John Kerry  as yet more evidence that there's scarcely a dime's worth 
> of difference between the major political candidates of both parties  
> on the life-and-death issues of our time. AC/JSC
> 
> My first trip to Israel made real for me all I'd believed about Israel.
> 
> I was allowed to fly an air force jet  from the Ovda Airbase. It was 
> then that Israeli insecurity about  narrow borders became very real to 
> me. In a matter of minutes,  I came close to violating the airspace of 
> Egypt, Jordan, and  Syria. From that moment on, I felt as Israelis do: 
> The promise  of peace must be secure before the Promised Land is secure 
> on  a thin margin of land.
> 
> Back on the ground on that first trip,  I toured the country from 
> Kibbutz Mizgav Am to Masada to the  Golan. I stood in the very shelter 
> in a kibbutz in the north  where children were attacked and I looked at 
> launching sites  and impact zones for Katousha rockets. I was 
> enthralled by Tel  Aviv, moved by Jerusalem and inspired by by standing 
> above Capernaum, looking out over the Sea of Galilee, where I read 
> aloud the Sermon  on The Mount. I met people of stunning commitment, 
> who honestly  and vigorously debated the issues as I watched and 
> listened intently.  I went as a friend by conviction; I returned a 
> friend at the  deepest personal level.
> 
> As the only true democracy in the Middle  East, Israel has both the 
> burden and the glory of a vigorous  public square. We as Americans must 
> be the truest and best kind  of ally--forthright enough to say what we 
> think--and steadfast enough to stay the course in hard passages as well 
> as easy days.
> 
> Herzl's famous words--"If you will  it, it is no dream"--signify the 
> promise and the greatest power of Israel--and the hope that a fair and 
> secure peace can  be achieved. We must be committed to support Israel 
> in the exacting, essential search for that dream.
> 
> I will never forget a moment on top of  Masada, when I stood on that 
> great plateau where the oath of  new soldiers used to be sworn against 
> the desert backdrop and  the test of history. I had spent several hours 
> with Yadin Roman debating whether or not Josephus Flavius was correct 
> in his account  of the siege--whether these really were the last Jews 
> fighting  for survival--whether they had escaped since no remains were  
> ever found. After our journey through history--which we resolved  with 
> a vote in favor of history as recorded--we stood as a group  at the end 
> of the cliff and altogether we shouted across the  chasm--across the 
> desert--Am Yisrael Chai. And across the silence  we listened as voices 
> came back--faintly we heard the echo of  the souls of those who 
> perished--Am Yisrael Chai. The State of  Israel lives. The people of 
> Israel live.
> 
> In this difficult time we must again  reaffirm we are enlisted for the 
> duration--and reaffirm our belief  that the cause of Israel must be the 
> cause of America--and the  cause of people of conscience everywhere.
> 
> John Kerry  is a Massachusetts Senator and a Democratic Candidate for 
> the  Presidency of the United States. Article is originally appeared  
> in the Brown Students for Israel publication "Perspectives:  An Israel 
> Review"
>