[Peace-discuss] [Peace] Veterans to stage protest at Tim Johnson's office this Thursday on the Eve of Veterans' Day

[C. G. ESTABROOK]

We'd be glad to have you on "AWARE on the Air" next week.

As his voting record makes clear, Rep. Johnson, tho' a Republican, is  
closer to your three points of unity than are his Democratic  
opponents, remarkably enough.

The tendentious account of Johnson's not being pro-veteran - because  
he's voted against war funding - comes from a pro-war group, IAVA,  
opposed to anti-war Representatives of either party.

And I'm sure you're aware of administration efforts to co-opt Occupy  
groups (cf. Van Jones' "American Dream") and similar efforts as MoveOn  
and other Democratic party fronts did in 2008.

They're even more worried this time.  Regards, CGE


On Nov 7, 2011, at 3:04 PM, David Amerson wrote:

> C.G.-
>
>  I'd be happy to do an interview. I would prefer to do so next week,  
> after the protest, so let me know if that's possible.
>
> I would like to take this opportunity to address your concerns about  
> Democrats co-opting IVAW in any way, since it sounds like this is  
> the assumption you are working under.
>
>  Not one of our members is in contact with local Dems or David Gill.  
> Kudos to Johnson for his stance on our occupation of Iraq and  
> Afghanistan. However, IVAW has three points of unity in our mission  
> statement:
>
> 1. Immediate Withdrawal  of Occupying Troops from Iraq and Afghanistan
> 2. Reparations for human and structural damage in Iraq and Afghanistan
> 3. Full benefits, adequate healthcare (including mental health), and  
> other supports for returning servicemen and women.
>
> It is to this last point that Johnson is an appropriate subject of  
> protest and public censure. IVAW is not singular in its pursuits,  
> despite our title. We explicitly advocate and act to effect policies  
> that will allow our veteran's to lead normal, healthy lives once  
> they return from deployment. All too often, politicians try to claim  
> a "pro-veteran" bonafide in their rhetoric, but their votes are  
> anything but.
>
> Tim Johnson, for instance, on his website claims that he has "paid  
> special attention to the needs of Veterans"
> http://timjohnson.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=2&sectiontree=
>
> yet, he voted NO on giving education benefits to children of fallen  
> troops,
> -HR. 2346 Vote 348
>
>  NO to a mental health screening for troops returning home from  
> deployment,
>
> -HR 2647 Vote 770
>
> and NO to Mortgage Relief for Deployed Troops, Veterans, and the  
> Families of those who were killed in action.
>
> -HR 836 Vote 174
>
> http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/F?r112:15:./temp/ 
> ~r112qwcFMU:e175483:
>
> among others. Any one of these votes would signal a contradiction to  
> what IVAW's mission statement declares, and would thus make the  
> legislator the target of a protest.
>
> I don't think that you are seriously accusing IVAW of working in  
> concert with the Democratic party. I think IVAW has earned it's non- 
> partisan bona-fides. Further, I think it is readily apparent that  
> Johnson, while perhaps acting in the best interests of active-duty  
> troops vis a vis occupation of foreign nations, has not earned any  
> support from ANY veteran's group as to his voting record on issues  
> dealing with veteran's homelessness, mental illness, or economic  
> well-being.
>
> I would be happy to talk with you about this at anytime.
>
> -David Amerson
>  d.m.amerson at gmail.com
>  (217)622-7929
>
>
>
> On Mon, Nov 7, 2011 at 2:43 PM, C. G. ESTABROOK <cge at shout.net> wrote:
> Dear Sarah Lazare & D.M. Amerson:
>
> As the host (for lack of a better term) of AWARE's regular weekly  
> cable TV program, "AWARE On The Air," I would like to invite you to  
> participate in the show to discuss IVAW's protest at Tim Johnson's  
> office on the Eve of Veterans' Day.
>
> We record this week's program tomorrow (11/8) at 1pm at the Urbana  
> City Council chambers for cablecast at 10pm on channels 6 & 99 in C- 
> U (and then on the web).
>
> AWARE of course is in general support of IVAW, but I think that in  
> this case you may have been misled, presumably by the local  
> Democrats and particularly perennial Congressional candidate David  
> Gill.
>
> Congressman Johnson voted for the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001  
> and the invasion of Iraq in 2003 (although I told him not to, when I  
> ran against him as a Green in 2002). But - and this is important -  
> Johnson subsequently said that he was wrong to do so; pledged to  
> vote for no more money for war in the Mideast; and has in fact voted  
> consistently against war in the Mideast and North Africa. (He was  
> one of ten members of Congress - including Dennis Kucinich and Ron  
> Paul - who sued President Obama for violating the War Powers Act in  
> attacking Libya.)
>
> But David Gill has refused to echo Johnson's pledge and to say that  
> he would vote against money for war, were he to be elected to  
> Congress. Since he's also unwilling to condemn Johnson's anti-war  
> position outright, he contends that he is condemning what he calls  
> Tim's refusal to vote for veterans' benefits (often of course  
> included in money for war).
>
> Gill's mendacious position seems to have confused some people who  
> would presumably otherwise support Johnson's anti-war position (but  
> not of course his pro-austerity views).
>
> It should be noted for example that "Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans  
> of America" <http://iava.org/> - the purported source of the  
> "veterans report card" - is quite different from IVAW. In fact, IAVA  
> is a well-funded pro-war group. Its board of directors includes  
> several Wall Street investment bankers and the president emeritus of  
> the Council on Foreign Relations, Les Gelb, a long-time Pentagon and  
> State Department apparatchik who, during the 2011 Egyptian protests  
> against President Hosni Mubarak, was called by Salon.com "the  
> Egyptian dictator's freelance spokesman in America."
>
> My guess is that the local IVAW got the information about the  
> "report card" from local Democrats associated with the Gill campaign  
> and are inadvertently using it to attack an opponent of the war, as  
> IAVA wishes. Certainly, veterans' benefits should be supported. But  
> they should not be used as a cover for more killing in Africa and  
> Asia.
>
> Best regards,
> C. G. Estabrook
>
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
>> Iraq Veterans Against the War to stage protest at Tim Johnson's  
>> office on the Eve of Veterans' Day (Thursday, November 10)
>>
>> Contact:
>> ~David Amerson - Iraq Veterans Against the War member, Marine  
>> veteran,
>> 217-622-7929, d.m.amerson at gmail.com
>> ~Sarah Lazare - The Civilian-Soldier Alliance, media liaison,
>> 217-816-2918, sarah.lazare at gmail.com
>>
>> CHAMPAIGN, IL - Representative Tim Johnson's website claims that he  
>> has "paid special attention to the needs of Veterans," but he  
>> received an "F" on his voting for veterans report card from Iraq  
>> and Afghanistan Veterans of America*. Over the last few legislative  
>> sessions, Johnson has
>> ~Voted NO on giving education benefit's to children of fallen  
>> troops: HR 2346 / Vote 348
>> ~Voted NO to Mortgage Rellef for Deployed Troops, Veterans, and the  
>> Families of those who were killed in action: HR 836 / Vote 174
>> ~Voted NO to a mental health screening for troops returning home  
>> from deployment: HR 2647 / Vote 770
>>
>> As we approach Veterans' Day November 11th, Representative Johnson  
>> continues to vote for policies that put veterans out on the streets.
>>
>> WHAT: The night before Veterans Day, members of Iraq Veterans  
>> Against the War, with the endorsement of Occupy Champaign-Urbana,  
>> will go to Tim Johnson's office to stage an occupation-style  
>> protest, in solidarity with the countless veterans who have been  
>> put out on the streets by the representative's policies.
>>
>> WHO: Iraq Veterans Against the War (Afghanistan & Iraq vets), the  
>> Civilian-Soldier Alliance, Occupy Champaign-Urbana
>>
>> WHEN: Thursday, November 10th (the day before Veterans' Day) at  
>> 5:30pm
>>
>> WHERE: Tim Johnson's office, 2004 Fox Drive in Champaign
>>
>> WHY: Veterans demand dignity and well-being for service members  
>> returning from war. The 1% elite who controls wealth and politics  
>> in this country continues to pour money into the defense budget  
>> while denying basic services and benefits to the service members  
>> being placed in harm's way. Veterans demand the right to heal,  
>> which includes full benefits for returning soldiers and safety from  
>> eviction and foreclosure.
>>
>> VISUALS: Veterans in uniform, banners, signs, Occupy rally, tents.
>>
>> ###
>
>

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