[Peace-discuss] How to oppose the Mideast war

[C. G. Estabrook]

http://www.democrats.com/

Democrats.com - Democratic Party Activists
	
Oppose $33 Billion War Supplemental for 2010

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have cost Americans over $1 trillion in direct 
costs, and over $3 trillion altogether.

At a time when our national debt exceeds $13 trillion, we can no longer afford 
these wars.

It's time for Congress to reject any funding except to bring all our troops 
safely home.
	***
No Subsidies for Wall Street Gambling
The good news on Senator Chris Dodd's  financial reform bill is that we have a 
few provisions worth fighting for.

Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) has introduced one of the most important - a 
bold amendment that will force the biggest banks to spin off their swaps (or 
derivatives) desks into a separate entity.

These swaps helped the five largest banks grow to mega-size and then take down 
the country. The Big 5 - J.P. Morgan Chase, Citibank, Bank of America, Goldman 
Sachs and Morgan Stanley - account for 90% of these derivatives. Lincoln's 
amendment will go right after the deals that Goldman Sachs is now being 
investigated for, and Lincoln's amendment is #1 on their hit list.

So the "Goldman Gang" in Congress, like Senators Judd Gregg (R-NH) and Saxby 
Chambliss (R-GA), are lining up to strip this provision one way or other. They 
are being aided and abetted by conservative Democrats like Evan Bayh (D-IN). 
Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Mark Warner (D-VA) are also big question 
marks.
	***
No Bailout For BP

BP's massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico will have disastrous consequences 
for the Gulf environment and millions of people who depend upon it.

But under current law, BP must pay only $75 million in economic damages, while 
damages from this spill could reach $14 billion, if not much more.

There must be no taxpayer bailout for BP. And there must be no consumer bailout 
through increased taxes on oil or gasoline, as proposed by Sen. Lisa Murkowski 
(S 3309).

Progressive organizations set up to promote and fund progressive congressional 
candidates tend, as a rule, not to do so. Candidates like the Democrats and 
Greens listed here tend not to get support. Candidates like Joe Sestak and Bill 
Halter attract the lion's share of progressive backing, not because they could 
pass any progressive platform test (they couldn't), but because of the awfulness 
of the incumbents they are opposing. Give it a few years, and perhaps the 
awfulness of Sestak and Halter will lead to a "progressive" focus on replacing them.

REP. GRIJALVA URGES PRESSURE ON CONGRESS AGAINST WAR ESCALATION FUNDING

WASHINGTON, DC--Congressman Raul Grijalva, (D., Ariz.), Congressional 
Progressive Caucus Co-Chair, speaks out strongly in an audio podcast posted 
online today, calling for increased public pressure on congress members to vote 
against another $33.5 billion to escalate the war in Afghanistan:

"I think the opposition to the supplemental has to intensify," Grijalva said in 
an interview with Tim Carpenter, Director of Progressive Democrats of America, 
"and the accountability to those members of Congress that have pledged in the 
past not to support it has to be intensified as well."

Grijalva urged opposition to the bill regardless of what good measures are 
packaged into it:

52 Congressional Candidates Oppose War Spending

Fifty-two congressional candidates and 18 activist organizations are opposing 
any more funding for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and inviting more 
candidates, incumbents, and organizations to join them.  The 52 candidates, from 
21 different states, include 19 Democrats, 16 Libertarians, 15 Greens, 2 
Independents, and 0 Republicans (and more may be added to the website by the 
time you read this).  Forty-six are candidates for the U.S. House of 
Representatives, and six for the Senate.

They do not all agree with each other on many topics, including their reasons 
for opposing war spending.

Fear, War, Greed, Disaster, and Journalism
By David Swanson

The Independent Film Channel is airing a series of four programs this week that 
illustrate the kind of media we need in this country. The four programs, titled 
"Fear," "War," "Greed," and "Disaster," feature the reporting of four 
independent unembedded journalists: Max Blumenthal, Nir Rosen, Charlie LeDuff, 
and Andrew Berends. The 30-minute episodes premiere Monday, May 24 through 
Thursday, May 27 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT.

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