Activism

Hurricane Katrina exposed an uncaring face of a government that does not believe in its basic role. Americans are expressing our shock and disgust with an Administration that failed to adequately mobilize to help the largely poor and minority communities of the Gulf Coast. We strongly protest this Administration's shortchanging of Homeland Security and disaster preparedness needs while lavishing tax breaks on a select few.

We write to ask your help for ACORN, a group that that needs your help now so that they can provide critical help to those in need and continue to hold public officials accountable. The ACORN national headquarters in New Orleans has succumbed to the flood waters and many ACORN family members throughout New Orleans have been displaced.

ACTION ALERT * UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE
www.unitedforpeace.org | 212-868-5545 | Click to subscribe

THE GULF WARS

Statement from United for Peace and Justice

Sept. 2, 2005

www.unitedforpeace.org

The effects of Katrina are tragic, causing death, the disruption of lives, and the loss of property on an unimaginable scale. Although Katrina was a natural catastrophe, its effects were largely avoidable and parallel another tragedy unfolding daily near another Gulf, 7000 miles away. Both disasters flow from the criminal behavior of the Bush administration and are closely related. Much can be said about how long-term policies -- from denying the existence of global warming to permitting greedy developers to destroy protective offshore islands and wetlands -- may have contributed to the severity of Katrina. But now there are more immediate concerns.

~~~~~~~
Katrina Marches on Washington?
by FluxRostrum

A thought. Which would be backed up with my complete, in-person, suppport, if there is serious interest in making this thought a reality. I am not currently close enough to NO to start the ball myself.

Evidence of bureaucratic failures in the handling of Katrina are starting to piss a lot of people off.

The fact that hotels are not offering - even temporarily - free rooms to refugees... the gas gouging... the depiction of survival as "looting", blocking domestic & foriegn workers and aid from entering the city ...

All of these issues clearly illustrate the fact that "Profit Over People" is not right or acceptable, at least in this level humanity.

LINK TO ORIGINAL

Write your Congressmen...DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY!!
Here's the address:
http://www.house.gov/writerep /

Here's the letter that I wrote to mine (copy or hack away):

Dear Sir,

I am writing you to express my great sadness and anger regarding our Federal Government's handling of the Hurricane Katrina crisis. It is becoming painfully obvious that our government has abandoned tens of thousands of our most vulnerable citizens and is letting one of our great cities fall to chaos and ruin. I am writing to ask you how, nearly four years after 9/11, we found ourselves without a plan to evacuate the sick, poor and elderly from what has been regarded as our most vulnerable city? As a formerly proud American citizen, I am outraged to see images coming from our own soil that are indistinguishable from those of a third world country. The Federal Government's response to Hurricane Katrina has been irreprehensible and I am asking for your pledge that you will demand the accountability of those responsible. Please be my voice.

Sincerely,

Friday September 2, 2005

UPDATED* BUSH in Hurricane Destruction Areas: Bush tours the Gulf Coast
today, making stops in Mobile, Biloxi, and New Orleans. In Mobile, Ala.,
the president was to get a briefing on the damage, followed by a
helicopter survey of areas along the Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana
coasts. He was to walk through hard-hit neighborhoods in Biloxi,
Mississippi. But Bush was avoiding an in-person visit to the worst areas
of New Orleans, mostly drowned in rank floodwaters and descending in
many areas into lawlessness as desperate residents await rescue or even
just food and water. Instead, the president was taking an aerial tour of

ANNOUNCEMENT

A rally will be held at Lafayette Square Park (in front of the White House) at 5 p.m. ET on September 15, 2005. Earlier the same day, Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey will host hearings on Capitol Hill on exit strategies for Iraq. Also the same day, a coalition of organizations will hand in to Congress a petition for an exit strategy. (See http://www.peoplespetition.org )

Speaking at the rally will be Congresswoman Woolsey and other congress members who support ending the war. The rally will bring together a broad coalition, including military families and leaders from throughout the peace movement (including some not supporting the petition cited above).

Wisconsin Green Party
wisconsingreenparty.org

August 29th, 2005

Contacts:
Arif Khan, Chair, Libertarian Party of Wisconsin, 920-251-0844
Jeff Peterson, Campaign Coordinator, Referendum on Troop Withdrawal from Iraq 715.472.2728
Jill Bussiere, Co-Chair, Wisconsin Green Party
920.388.0529, cell 920.255.2175, jdt@wisconsingreenparty.org

The Libertarian Party of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Green Party have joined in calling for support for U.S. troops in Iraq by bringing them home as soon as possible.

The Green and Libertarian Parties both oppose the current U.S. occupation. Both believe war should be waged only to defend the United States, and that the war on Iraq did not meet that condition. Both parties' 2004 presidential candidates proposed withdrawal of American troops from Iraq. Both are concerned that the longer the U.S. occupation remains in Iraq, the more long-term will be the damage. They agree the best thing for the United States and Iraq is to bring U.S. troops home as quickly as possible. "The United States was not threatened by Iraq," said Jill Bussiere, Co-chair of the Wisconsin Green Party. "Many of us knew there were no weapons of mass destruction well before the invasion, and the administration knew it too, having fixed the 'intelligence around the policy' as the Downing Street memo notes. Now, we find that the invasion and occupation of Iraq have decreased our national security - just the opposite of what the administration claims."

Dallas to house 25,000 refugees (Reunion Arena and the convention center)
LINK TO ORIGINAL. REGISRATION REQUIRED

Dallas soon will be the temporary home for at least 25,000 Hurricane Katrina refugees from Louisiana, state and local officials confirmed on Thursday. City and county leaders scrambled to locate suitable shelter for such an influx of storm victims, who they expected to arrive primarily by bus and plane beginning Saturday.

Reunion Arena and a 200,000-square-foot portion of the Dallas Convention center, both downtown, could house as many as 12,000 people, City Manager Mary Suhm said.

LINK TO WEBSITE HERE

Florida State University is rallying to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina, and is asking fans coming to Monday's football game against Miami to lend a hand.

With hotel space at a premium this weekend as hurricane refugees seek shelter, FSU is asking local FSU friends and families to open their doors to old friends from out of town. If you're coming to the game from out of town, FSU asks that you consider staying with FSU friends who live in or around Tallahassee. This could free up much-needed hotel space.

Hotels to evacuees: Go before big game

Many Tallahassee hotels have told hurricane evacuees they'll have to move by the day of the FSU-Miami football game so that fan bookings can be honored.

You have to register to get whole article.

Some of the hotels asking people to leave & links to their corporate headquarters:
Howard Johnson: owned by Cedant http://www.cendant.com/contact/
Marriott Courtyard: http://marriott.com/corporateinfo/default.mi
Doubletree & Homewood Suites: owned by Hilton
LINK

From ACORN:

As we write this to you, thousands of New Orleans residents at the Superdome are stranded and without water. According to many news reports, people are dying from dehydration while 82 buses sit outside the Superdome. There are confusing reports about why they are not evacuating people.

We know for certain that there are ACORN members and their families in the Superdome. They need water. We do not know why FEMA is not bringing water. We also heard there was water available at the Ritz Carlton Hotel nearby, but we can't enter the city or reach folks there.

Please call your Members of Congress and ask them to pressure the Administration and FEMA to save the people at the Superdome. You can call toll-free 1-800-643-9557 and ask to speak to your representative.

From Bob Fertik, Democrats.com

To: Frank Newport, Gallup Poll Editor-In-Chief
cc: Richard Morin, Washington Post Polling Editor

Dear Frank (and Richard),

Thank you for responding to letters from Democrats about your refusal to poll on the impeachment of George W. Bush, even though a Zogby Poll in June found 42% support impeachment if Bush lied about Iraq.

You offer the following justification (copied in full below):

... the general procedure Gallup uses to determine what to ask about in our surveys is to measure the issues and concerns that are being discussed in the public domain. We will certainly ask Americans about their views on impeaching George W. Bush if, and when, there is some discussion of that possibility by congressional leaders, and/or if commentators begin discussing it in the news media. That has not happened to date.

Of course, your justification is completely dishonest. Is Bush's impeachment being "discussed in the public domain"? Unquestionably! Simply Google "impeach Bush" and you'll get 723,000 links.

Yuppies and the Peace Movement
By David Swanson

PART 1

The single biggest reason that the peace movement is not larger and more aggressive is that people with one foot in it are focused on trying to be respectable in the eyes of the corporate media, for their own sake and – in their misguided view – for the sake of the movement.

As an example, take the meeting I went to in Washington, D.C., this evening. About 40 people, mostly in their thirties, mostly doing all right financially, about 37 of them white, gathered at a restaurant to vote on whether their little organization would endorse the September 24th march against the war.

Wed Aug 31st, 2005 at 18:27:01 PDT
Cliff's Notes Version:

$900 in donations have already been made to Gold Star Families for Peace and the Crawford Peace House. Cindy has received her own specially-made bracelet.

September donations will go to the Red Cross.

Later donations will be split between Gold Star Families for Peace and Operation Truth.

Men's/Unisex style now available. Weightier and less sparkly. Available in various sizes (including women's sizes).

Ah, Katrina.

It's hard to think of much of anything else right now. I've been very busy and very committed to these little bracelets and what they mean to people and what they mean to the organizations who get the donations. But I have been mentally consumed with the horror unfolding in our own country for the past several days.

Here's the text of an e-mail I received earlier tonight.

Hope to meet some of my fellow Houstonian DUers there Thursday night!

BTW, this is not too far from where our Harris County Dem Party HQ is located.

Cindy Sheehan
and the Bring Them Home Tour
in Houston
Thursday, Sept. 1, 2005
6:30 pm - 8:30 pm

at the Resurrection Metropolitan Community Church
located at 2025 West 11th Street (at W. TC Jester)

Let's give Cindy and the military vets and families traveling with her a big, generous Houston WELCOME!
Attendance is free, but donations are appreciated to cover the venue rental and to continue the Bring Them Home Nationwide Tour.

Bring Them Home Now Tour
From Camp Casey, Crawford to Washington DC

From George Bush’s door step to Communities along the way, We Demand That:

Elected Representatives Decide Now to Bring the Troops Home
We Take Care of Them When They Get Here
We Never Again Send Our Loved Ones to War Based on Lies!

We are currently at a significant turning point in how the American public views the war in Iraq. As the death toll in Iraq rises, Cindy Sheehan’s vigil near President Bush’s ranch in Crawford, Texas, has captured the hearts and minds of thousands of Americans. Bush’s approval rating is falling. The voice of military families, who have lost loved ones and those with loved ones in harm’s way or about to deploy, can activate the American people. The voice of veterans, both of this war and of previous wars will also build the movement to end the war. Together these critical voices can demand that President Bush make the decision now to bring the troops home.

More and more organizations keep joining this coalition.

Current Members.

Join here.

From Bob Fertik, President of Democrats.com

http://www.democrats.com/node/5884

The latest Washington Post/ABC News poll was published today, and despite record-low approval ratings for Bush (45%), there was no question on impeachment.

I sent the letter below to the authors of the survey - WP's Richard Morin and Dan Balz (morinr@washpost.com,balzd@washpost.com) and ABC's Gary Langer (newspolls@abc.com)

I will post their replies below.

I encourage everyone to write a polite letter of your own and to post any replies you receive.

Gentlemen,

I'm blogging on the reasons why no polling organizations have followed up on the June poll by Zogby which found "42% say they would favor impeachment proceedings if it is found the President misled the nation about his reasons for going to war with Iraq."

WWW http://www.afterdowningstreet.org

I have added a new logo to my AfterDowningStreet.org sections. As always, I will donate a portion of sales to AfterDowningStreet.org and Crawford House. Thanks so much for linking to me.

Victoria Love
http://www.CafePress.com/liberalprogdem

http://www.ChurchoftheFrontPorch.blogspot.com

NEW* BUSH in Crawford, TX: President Bush held a morning conference call
at his ranch with federal officials who are coordinating the recovery
effort. [AP, 8/31/05]

NEW* BUSH in Washington D.C.: President Bush will meet with a task force
established to coordinate the efforts of 14 federal agencies that will
be involved in responding to the disaster. [AP, 8/31/05]

NEW* SANTORUM in Honesdale, PA: U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum will visit
Wayne Memorial Hospital today to discuss health care issues. Mr.
Santorum will have lunch in the hospital's boardroom and then tour the
construction site of the new emergency department from noon to 1:15 p.m.

NOTICE: VETERANS at CAMP CASEY I, near Crawford, have issued an appeal for donations of generators and other goods to be taken to victims of Hurricane Katrina. The group plans to leave Camp II at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday to deliver donations and supplies left over at Camps I and II to those in need in areas impacted by the hurricane. Any persons having first-hand information on conditions in New Orleans and the area north of Covington, La. (Washington Parish) are urged to contact this newspaper. Some individuals at Camp Casey have relatives in that area and are anxious for news.
LINK TO ORIGINAL

By Sherry Bohlen, National Field Director, Progressive Democrats of America

It's only three short weeks until we converge on DC for the Anti-War Mobilization! This will be a history-in-the-making event that you won't want to miss!

On Saturday, September 24, hundreds of thousands of activists are expected to gather for a mass rally and March. PDA will announce within the next week or so the specific intersection and time at which PDA members will gather. Watch for details in upcoming alerts and on PDA's web site for the latest information!

On Sunday, September 25, PDA has a stellar "Grassroots Strategy Day" planned. Click here for details of the day. Sign up early for this not-to-be-missed strategic planning day! Click here to sign up now!

Dear UFPJ Member Group:

We're strongly encouraging you to participate in the following

call to action from the Leave My Child Alone Coalition, including:

opting out of military recruiter lists and hosting a back to school event.

Here's an already written email we hope you will send out to your

membership:

BACKGROUND
Buried deep within the No Child Left Behind Act is a provision that
requires public high schools to hand over students' private contact
information to military recruiters. If a school does not comply, it
risks losing vital federal education funds. As if that weren't bad

Bells Will Bear Witness to the Human Toll of War, Commemorate their Sacrifice, and Bring Forth a Moral Consensus on Next Steps in Iraq

Commencement Ceremony Thursday (9/1), 10:00AM;
All Souls Church, Washington, DC

Washington, DC: Religious leaders are calling for a coordinated tolling of bells to remember those who have lost their lives in Iraq. The National Council of Churches, Clergy, Laity Concerned About Iraq and Faithful America along with Democracy Rising are leading the call for churches and other religious institutions to take part in this healing. The groups were inspired, in part, by the actions of Gold Star Families for Peace seeking to understand why U.S. soldiers and Iraqis are dying.

Tuesday August 30, 2005

BUSH in Coronado, CA - 12:00 EDT: Bush makes remarks commemorating the
60th anniversary of V-J Day at a naval air station in San Diego at 12
noon EDT. He's also expected to ask Americans to show the same resolve
they did during World War II in supporting the war in Iraq. [MSNBC,
8/30/05]

GIULIANI in Sydney, Australia: Former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani
will attend the annual three-day Forbes global CEO conference at the
Sydney Opera House. The conference attracts some of the world's top
business leaders. George Bush Sr. and Australian Prime Minister John

Sign the Petition of Redress. Either the Bush Kids Put Their Lives on the Line for George's "Noble War" or the Troops Come Home.

A BUZZFLASH EDITORIAL

To forward this petition to all your friends, relatives and colleagues, Click Here.

Uncle Sam Wants You!

Sign this petition, demanding that the eligible children of the extended Bush family, including the twins, serve in George's "noble war for a noble cause" or Bush must bring the sons and daughters of America home now.

"I demand that George W. Bush's daughters, and his eligible nieces and nephews, serve in Iraq to prove their support of Bush's 'noble war for a noble cause.' If the Bush family does not believe in 'sacrificing' for the war and is not willing to put their lives on the line, then Bush must bring the troops of middle class and poor Americans home now."

The Strike for Peace plan is going well, but I want to encourage everyone to spread word that this is all about connecting our 300-plus Pentagon-funded schools across the nation for a sustained information outreach campaign. By striking, I hope to help transfer the energy created by Cindy Sheehan's camp (and that of the national rallies planned for September 24-26) onto our campuses and into our communities from the first day of school, September 26, through the end of the academic year. Others need not strike -- indeed, I advise against it -- but please support this info-out campaign as powerfully as you can.

George Bush may want to take a quick vacation somewhere, anywhere, from September 24-26, unless he wants to spend the weekend surrounded by what is shaping up to be the most important demonstration against the Iraq War since he launched the invasion.

The energy was almost palpable at tonight’s meeting of the United for Peace and Justice mobilization for September 24-26. More than two-thirds of the people present were there for the first time, ready to staff up a rich series of marches, concerts, rallies, festivals, and civil disobedience.

Former CIA analyst Ray McGovern and Gold Start Mother Tia Steele appeared as guest speakers to start off the evening, before getting down to business.

September 26, 2005

President George W. Bush, The White House
Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, Department of Defense, The Pentagon
President Nils Hasselmo, Association of American Universities
Governor Ted Kulongoski, State of Oregon
President Dave Frohnmayer, University of Oregon

Dear Public Servants,

As University of Oregon's first graduate student in the field of Peace Studies, it is my responsibility to explore the role of the military in society and those conditions that most promote peace and human welfare. In so doing, I have come to understand the nature of America's war industry, and how that industry has flourished in the wake of the Cold War. I have come to find that more than 300 of our universities are developing weapons for the Department of Defense, and that these schools are increasingly reliant on the industry of war to sustain their education programs. Indeed, the Association of American Universities appears to be little more than a lobby for such funding.