Democrats Abroad Munich - U.S. politics

Democrats Abroad is the Democratic Party organisation for more than seven million US citizens living overseas. Forty-five separate country committees throughout the world organize local events and activities to encourage participation in the American political process.

Read more here: www.democratsabroad.org/about

The posts below are archived out-of-date discussions. For up-to-date information see: Democrats Abroad Munich - current discussion.

My Fellow Americans:
Are you angry, are you devastated at the recent election, do you need consoling among like minded people? Then why not join us and get involved.

Living in Europe does not mean that you don't have a voice. We can shape the future of the Democratic Party. We know first hand how the world is changing and coming together in GigaByte speed. The Party will be going through great change now after two failed elections that relied on the past. Lend your voice to the solutions of the future and not to the chorus of past despair. The Old Gaurd needs prodding to stand up to Bush and his cronies that want to turn the USofA into the United States of Born-again intolerance. WE ARE THE PEOPLE!

Besides, we have fun!

Democrats Abroad Munich
Meeting on Monday, 8 November beginning 7 p.m.
PM for details if you want to join us for change! We will also be consoling each other, licking our wounds (maybe you can find somebody to lick your wounds for you! ) and drinking beer!

For this thread to grow positively, list your ideas here. This thread is not for bitching about Bush being re-elected nor is it about how stupid the Americans are. This is for how to make things better for the future. Either your for change or your for sitting around and moaning about the past. 59 million Americans can be wrong because 56 million Americans were not successful in showing them the light. Let's make the future brighter!

OK, I will post the first idea.
Do not let Hillary Clinton run in 2008.
If you think that there was a great Right Wing Conspiracy before, you ain't seen nothing yet. I don't particularly like the idea of losing again.
So there!

I wonder how much influence Democrats Abroad would have on the party in the US.
I also wonder how much genuine change the Democratic Party would bring to the lives of ordinary men and women in America and substationally change American foreign policy that is blighting the world.

But the non-Bushbots need to get together, it's still all to play for as long as Dubya keeps his finger off the button the next 4 years.

where's that meeting at? And don't feel bad that nobody else has posted yet, TT's not that active on weekends!

Actually, you would be amazed at how much participation changes things. It may be slow, but we have an opportunity now that no one can ignore. The party needs your voices. It needs to know how to change and how to have a better image amongst those back home. Since we deal with this image problem day to day in our lives as Americans abroad, maybe we have the knowledge that is lacking from those that only move from the couch when they can't find the remote?
Seriously, I have connections and I am going to use them. I may get shut out, but I am going to try. Myself and many other progressive Democrats are jumping at the chance that is presented to us. I am tired of the wishy washy Charlie Brown image and things have to change. There are many right now that are not happy with this new progressive movement afoot, but hell, they lost two elections. It is time for a change and it is long overdue.
Gen, I don't feel bad at all. I know it is the weekend. I thought about that when I posted my stupid kitty joke and thought, oh shit, I should have waited till Monday morn when the chances were higher that someone would fall for it.

Here is something I thought everyone might find interesting from Michael Moore:

17 reasons not to slit your wrists

Unfortunately, I won't be able to make it to the meeting this evening. Please let us know how it goes. Please also keep us informed of future meetings - I might just make it to one.

Too bad IPJ. Twas a fun meeting. I for one, finally got to meet the one and only EUROVOL! Man, the Andechs beer was good, and that Jamaican sauce...what was it called again? Anyway, we made some progress I think regarding Democrats Abroad and the inevitable reshuffling that occurs after a Presidential election. There´s so much momentum out there, it would be a pity too lose it - and I don´t think we will. Question is how´s it all going to play out? It´ll be interesting to see what happens on the national stage e.g. Wesley Clark, Howard Dean, etc.

isn't there another meeting Thursday at 19:00 at CAST?

and it's Jerk sauce at Cargo. that's what I'm ordering next time, though my lomito was fine...

There is a Munich4Kerry MeetUp meeting on Thursday night at Cast. You can check it out on their website. They are not the official DA Munich group, but there is movement to fuse the two. How that goes remains to be seen.
It looks as if Howard Dean is being recruited to head the DNC. I hope he tries for it. It did sooooo much for the party. The Democrats wouldn't of even been in the running had he not starting the debate that the others were afraid to start. His campaign started the MeetUps and the fundraising that the other candidates then copied. He is also a very progressive voice.

The next meeting will be early December. Will let you all know.

I've attended several Democrats abroad meetings, and they're a nice group, but truth be told, as a diehard liberal, I've felt let down by the democratic party all along, and am totally demoralized now. I'll keep trying to do my part, but it all seems pretty hopeless right now.

It ain't over until it is over!

UC Berkeley Study Questions Florida E-Vote Count

Research Team Calls for Immediate Investigation

When: Thursday, November 18, 2004, 10:00 a.m. PST

Where: UC Berkeley campus, Survey Research Center Conference Room --
2538 Channing Way (intersection of Channing/Bowditch). Parking on Durant
near Telegraph.

What: A research team at UC Berkeley will report that irregularities
associated with electronic voting machines may have awarded
130,000 - 260,000 or more excess votes to President George W. Bush in
Florida in the 2004 presidential election. The study shows an unexplained
discrepancy between votes for President Bush in counties where electronic
voting machines were used versus counties using traditional voting
methods. Discrepancies this large or larger rarely arise by chance -- the
probability is less than 0.1 percent. The research team, led by Professor
Michael Hout, will formally disclose results of the study at the press
conference.

To attend the conference or request dial-in information, contact:

Erin Reasoner
Eastwick Communications
650-480-4057
erin.reasoner@eastwick.com

Erica Pereira
Eastwick Communications
640-480-4024
erica@eastwick.com

Noel Gallagher
UC Berkeley Media Relations
510-643-7944
noelgallagher@berkeley.edu

Meeting tonight at 7pm at Cargo. Tonights meeting will also include "elections" for the new leader of the Munich chapter of DA Germany.

The tentative agenda for the 6th of December will be as follows:
Opening remarks Dave (approx. 5 minutes except that he may be late tonight)
Election of Munich Chair Candidate speeches (max 5 minutes per candidate)
Voting Approx. 15 minutes
Discussion of next steps Led by new chair (approx. 30 minutes)
General discussion Open end

These is an important meeting for the future direction of the Munich group. It also might get a little lively.

Hope to see some of you there.

Oops. it was at Einwelthaus. Sorry about that if anyone showed up after I figured out my mistake and left (7:15ish). Good thing the real one started a bit late and I actually made it on time so to speak.

Anyway, the next one will be at the Twisted Bavarian, but no date set yet.

This was in the NY times a couple days ago. A little Chirstmas politics! I think it was called " A Not so Wonderful Life"

EXTERIOR BRIDGE OVER POTOMAC RIVER - NIGHT

CLOSE SHOT - Rummy is standing by the railing, staring
morosely into the water. The snow is falling hard. Feeling
a tap on his shoulder, he wheels around and wrestles an old
man with wings into a headlock.

OLD MAN: Ouch! Tut, tut. When will you learn that force
doesn't solve everything?

RUMMY: Who the dickens are you?

OLD MAN: Clarence, Angel
First Class. I've been sent down to help you.

RUMMY, squinting: You're off your nut, you old fruitcake.
You can't help me. I was a matinee idol in this town, a
studmuffin. Now everyone's turned on me - Trent Lott, Chuck
Hagel and that dadburn McCain.

CLARENCE: No more self-pity, son. I'm going to show you
what the world would have been like if you'd never been
born.

Clarence, who can fly now, takes Rummy's hand and they soar
over the icy Potomac to the Pentagon. Beneath the glass on
the desk of the defense secretary is a list of members of
Congress and their phone numbers.

RUMMY: Who put that there?

CLARENCE: Sam Nunn. He's the
defense secretary. Sam consults with Congress. Never acts
arrogant or misleads them. He didn't banish the generals
who challenged him - he promoted 'em. And, of course, he
caught Osama back in '01. He threw 100,000 troops into
Afghanistan on 9/11 and sealed the borders. Our Special
Forces trapped the evildoer and his top lieutenants at Tora
Bora. You weren't at that cabinet meeting the day after
9/11, so nobody suggested going after Saddam. No American
troops died or were maimed in Iraq. No American soldiers
tortured Iraqis in Abu Ghraib. No Iraqi explosives fell
into the hands of terrorists. There's no office of
disinformation to twist perception abroad. We're not on the
cusp of an Iraq run by Muslim clerics tied to Iran. Here's
Sam. He's with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs.

GENERAL SHINSEKI: We got some good news today on the
National Guard, sir. Recruiting is up 40 percent. With the
money we saved killing that useless missile defense system,
we up-armored all our Humvees.

RUMMY, fists and jaw clenched: Grrrrrrr...I want to see
Wolfie!

CLARENCE: Sam never hired any of those wacko neocons.
Wolfowitz is a woolly headed professor at the Johns Hopkins
School of Advanced International Studies, and a consultant
to Ariel Sharon. Richard Perle was never in charge of the
Defense Policy Board, so he was unable to enrich himself
through government connections, or help Ahmad Chalabi con
the administration. Perle stayed an honest man, running a
chain of soufflé shops. His soufflés were so fluffy he
became known as the Prince of Lightness. Doug Feith never
worked here, either, so he never set up the Office of
Special Plans to spin tall tales about W.M.D. and Qaeda
ties to Saddam. And he never bungled the occupation because
there was no occupation. Without you to swoon over in a
book, neocon doyenne Midge Decter became a fallen woman,
like Violet.

RUMMY, dyspeptic: Holy mackerel! Take me to Dick!

CLARENCE: Dick and Lynne run a bait, tackle and
baton-twirling shop in Casper, Wyo. You didn't exist, so
you never gave him those jobs in the Nixon and Ford
administrations, and he never ran for Congress or worked
for Bush 41 or anointed himself 43's vice president. W.
chose Chuck Hagel as his running mate. So without you and
Dick there to dominate him, he was guided by his dad and
Brent Scowcroft, who kept Condi in line. Colin Powell was
never cut off at the knees and the U.N. and allies were
never bullied. There was never any crazy fever about Iraq
or unilateralism or "Old Europe." Here's Colin now, heading
for the Oval Office.

POWELL: Merry Christmas, Mr. President. With the help of
our allies around the world, we have won the war on terror.
And Saddam has been overthrown. Once Hans Blix exposed the
fact that Saddam had no weapons, the tyrant was a goner. No
Arab dictator can afford to be humilated by a Swedish
disarmament lawyer.

RUMMY: Goodness gracious, I've heard enough now. I'm going
home. Unless you're going to tell me my wife is an old
maid, because I wasn't around to marry her.

CLARENCE: Oh, no. Joyce lives across the street from your
old house on Kalorama Road. She's happily married to the
French ambassador.

"Auld Lang Syne" swells as we FADE OUT.

Senator to Object to Electoral College Results

Seems someone has some guts afterall!

January 5, 2005

The Honorable Stephanie Tubbs Jones
1009 Longworth H.O.B.
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Representative Tubbs Jones:

I am in receipt of your letter that spelled out concerns about the election irregularities in Ohio during the November 2004 election.

The fact that you are from Ohio and that you are a former judge gives great weight and much credibility to the points you cited and to your plea that these issues be addressed by the Congress.

I was particularly moved by your point that it is virtually impossible to get official House consideration of the whole issue of election reform, including these irregularities.

I have concluded that objecting to the electoral votes from Ohio is the only immediate way to bring these issues to light by allowing you to have a two-hour debate to let the American people know the facts surrounding Ohio's election.

I will therefore join you in your objection to the certification of Ohio's electoral votes. Attached is my signature on a copy of your written objection.

Sincerely,

Barbara Boxer

United States Senator

Our next meeting:

Jan 13, Thursday DA Meeting 7 PM
Einwelthaus Munich
Schwanthalerstr. 80 Rgb.
80336 Munich
(1 Min. from U-Bahn-Station Theresienwiese U 4/5, Exit Schwanthalerstr.)

To keep up to date on what is happening:
Munich4America

This is unbelievable.
This is a quote from someone who voted for Bush: "If we had somebody in office who waffled we would be in trouble. It's almost better to be wrong and then correct it, than to vacillate and be stomped."
and another one:
A state worker who lives in Stowe, Pa., says he's been a Democrat all his life, but he voted for Bush this time because Democrat John Kerry "seemed to be following the polls. I voted for President Bush because I think he took a stand after what went on with the terrorist attacks," Kuterboch said. "We need a leader."

Tonight is the meeting.
One major topic is the Chair of the DNC party: Will it be Dean or will the old guard keep him out?

"The man who has indicated his willingness to trade another shot at the presidency for the thankless task of reminding Democrats that an opposition party is actually supposed to oppose the party in power launched his run for the chairmanship with a refreshingly blunt assessment of the partisan zeitgeist: "The Democratic Party will not win elections or build a lasting majority solely by changing its rhetoric, nor will we win by adopting the other side's positions. We must say what we mean--and mean real change when we say it." Dr. Dean Calling

@Eurovol
I am not wanting to cause any problems within this discussion, but I have a few questions concerning the last few posts. Is this a forum for Democrats, or for Republican bashing? In order to elucidate my position a litle bit, I am an independent and do not like either of the parties, in fact I believe that the two-party systems prevents the real issues from ever being addressed. I think of the political machine as a circle with the rupublicans on the right heading to the Pi/2 point, and the democrats on the left heading to the same point. The goal is the same "trickle down", "bubble up"-Greespan in office-it is only the path that matters. While the whole nation sits in the center looking at the political machinery that encompasses them but is always outside of their reach and creates boundries. I always separate democratic ideals, from liveral ideals, and the same from conservative and the republicans. If I agree with anything I would be that we should have a weaker national government and the roles of most influence should be delegated to the smallest community. Outside of that I believe that we should not have political parties-I understand that for efficiency and consensus this works out well, but I don't believe that a democracy (albeit a republic) should be chosen for the most efficiency. It should best represent the people, and only two parties can not accomplish that. However, what I would like to know from Democrats abroad-as a serious question-what is the platform of the democratic party now? As from my ancient knowledge it was more to do with a strong central goivernment, non-or almost no foreign policy, and the idea to empower the worker. As give credits to the worker, he buys more, industries need to produce more, and therefore emply more people rather than give credits to industry, they can produce more for the same cost, they employ more people, people with jobs buy more...a circle as I mentioned with the same goals. My question to you is...convince me of what the democratic party can offer. Please be specific with numbers and not platitudes or hyperbole, and try and refrain from demonizing another party because they have a different philosophy. I am not interested in the differences between liberal and conservation, but I do agree that these slants do bleedthrough into distinct parties. I am bored with the current representaion and I am looking for more enlightenment for why a two party system is good, and what are the benefits from the Democratic party.
Later, I can describe how I would have it organised, but this is enough for now

Other than Nicole's christmas poem, I am not sure where the bashing is to be honest?

The question you ask are the questions we are asking right now. Seriously, I am not only part of the DAMunich group, but I am part of the Progressive group. We are working right now on making a platform that is not changing at the whim of the candidate every four years and one that spells out just who we are and what we want. If you want to get involved in that, lets talk later. Right now I have to get ready and leave for the meeting. I understand where you are coming from and I too am a bit frustrated with the way things are. That is why I am in there trying to help change things. The two candidates that would speak to where you are coming from would have to be Howard Dean or even more so, Donnie Fowler Jr.
As for your ancient knowledge, that has been the mantra of the Republicans concerning the Democrates for as long as I can remember. The truth of the matter is, the economy, the stock market and the budget have all done better under a Democratic president since the time of Kennedy. That big government hullaballu came out of the depression when the two parties switched ideologies. Reagan, Bush 1 and Bush 2 have all double the deficit and only Clinton has reduced it. Bush 2 is on his way to tripling it if we don't stop the bleeding.

The party is looking for ideas and direction and this time, the foor soldiers will be heard from. That much I can gaurantee and if we get the right Chair in there, they might even listen and help the changes occur.

Bush Sworn in for New Term, Pledges Unity
Let us all bow our heads in silent shame. Yes, this is an anti-Bush post, but I still can't believe we reelected that SOB as my mother would have put it if she had lived to see this moment.

pessimism is bad for your health.

Hey Robert, I will be coming to Frankfurt next month for German wide Dem meeting. Will you be there?
I am as optimistic as they come, but I am also a reallist. The Bush agenda is not one we can or should afford. It is one that only benefits the truly rich and well to do. Capitalism is trickle up economics, the reverse, trickle down, is pseudo capitalistic communism. Even G.H.W. Bush agrees on that one.

hi eurovol,

my comment was not directed at you... only at the vibe.. sorry, if it looked that way...

i'm not a democrat or republican or anything...

but when and where is this meetup? sounds interesting...

cheers

r

Robert,
No prob, didn't take it wrong either. The TT board will inevitably thicken your skin abit. haha
The meeting is the last weekend of February. Frankfurt has monthly meetings as well. I can put you in contact with the locals there if you want me to and as long as your an American. You can just PM me with your name, voting location (state and county) and email address and voila, your on the list for announcements.

Democrats Abroad Germany Annual Meeting 2005
Saturday, February 26th

In Frankfurt Am Main
Organization and support by DA-Frankfurt Chapter

Program of Events
Saturday, February 26th
3:45pm General Meeting with DAG Officer Elections
Elections begin shortly after 4pm
Kaffee und Kuchen before and during
the meeting
Restaurant Nizza Am Main (address and
contact below)
8 euros/per person contribution

7:30pm 3-course Dinner with welcome drink
Restaurant Nizza am Main (www.nizzamain.de)
Untermainkai 17, 60329 Frankfurt am Main

PM for more details. All DAG members are welcome and you can join immediately with no money down and no payments for the rest of your life.
However, contributions are always welcome.

for further discussions go to:
http://www.expatdemocrat.net
This is OK Bob, isn't it?

Next meeting:
Feb 7th, Monday
DA Meeting 7 PM
Einwelthaus Munich
Schwanthalerstr. 80

Update on the race for DNC Chair from the ASDC conference call yesterday:
Dean 56
Fowler 21
Frost 5
Roemer 3
Rosenberg 3
Webb 3
Abstentions 5
Not voting 16

http://www.munich4america.com/

Meeting on Monday. See website above. There you can also see that I won an At-large position for the Democrats Abroad Germany's executive committee with pictures. Aren't we a lovely bunch?

If I were you guys, I'd join a drinking club. More value for money, and, arguably, more concrete and real-life results.

Munich4America

Hope to see you Americans there. Of course, others are welcome, but this is mostly for the Americans amongst us.

Next meeting is on May 5th. Click on link in previous post.

And Jerry Springer is on Air America Radio!

So is the May meeting also at the EinWeltHaus?

Seems the next meeting is now TBA. A typical American thing to do is to forget German holidays!
Click on the link in the above posting to keep up to date on when the next meeting will be! More than that, I can not tell you at this time.
However, anyone that wants to volunteer for letter writing parties PM me. I will make sure they are fun and productive and fun!

Non-Americans may also apply for the letter writing parties. We are an equal opportunity progressive group.

Next DA Munich Meeting: 19th May, Thursday at 7pm (be early for good seats!)
Featuing a video of Gov. Howard Dean's address to the Democrats Abroad annual meeting in Toronto (The next meeting is in Barcelona )
Einwelthaus Munich
Schwanthalerstr. 80

Very important letter from Senator Harry Reid!

The next meeting is tomorrow night, 20th June. The new International Chair of Democrats Abroad will be the special guest.
For more info

Lots of things happening in DA.
The Munich Chair is resigning for personal reasons (sorry to see her go, but I understand totally) and the DAG secretary has also stepped down.
We could use some reinforcements in the way of web techies and activists.
Contact me for details.

On the Progressive front, we need bodies and souls. We are not your usual political party operative. We are in fact a group of people out to change the world, but from within. Go here to sign up to become one of the few, the proud, the anti-apathy group. The cost is nothing and the rewards are what you make of it. http://www.progda.org/
Right now we are working on a resolution suggesting that we get out of Iraq now rather than later. Yeah, I know that few will listen, but we all have to start somewhere. Join up or simply supply your voice to the chorus. The only way for us to be taken seriously is by strength in numbers. There will be a meeting in Barcelona in just a few months and the more voices we have the better chance we have of moving the moutain of apathy. It is unbelievable the number of people back home that continue to think that Iraq was somehow connected to September the 11th. The war on terrorism is in Afghanistan and around the world, not in Iraq. We have no business being there and we should get out sooner rather than later. Add your voice and be a part of the solution rather than part of the apathetic problem. Sorry this is only limited to Americans because I know that many of you others would also like to sign on. As for the petition, there might be a chance of adding your voices, but not just yet. We need free thinking Americans and their voices at the moment.
Thanks, Randy

Well thanks Randy for your kind words, but just for clarification, I am not stepping down for "personal reasons" but because we are moving back to the States.

We have a terrific new chair from the great state of Texas to lead the group.

New voter Registration books come out in September. Make sure to recheck your voting addresses as they change. And PLEASE...request an absentee ballot EARLY and vote EARLY.

The 2006 races are so important. We can't just wait until the 2008 Presidential run.

We will be happy to help you in any and all things politically linked, and a few that aren't

Next meeting is Thursday August 25th, and I believe we will have a speaker from OVF (Overseas voter Foundation), speak on the research done regarding whether our overseas votes counted.

DEMOCRATS ABROAD - MUNICH CHAPTER

PLEASE HELP US TO KNOW WHO IS OUT THERE.

Dear Fellow Citizens,

At the request of DNC Chairman Howard Dean, and the International DA, we are doing everything we can to better find, assist and communicate with overseas voters . To do that, it is imperative that we upgrade and update our database systems, before the push for the 2006 races begins this September. In an effort to better understand our constituency we are trying to obtain basic residency, contact and voting information.

By gathering better statistical information, we will better be able to target election and voter updates and alerts, thus decreasing the overall number of broad spectrum e-mails. It will also enable us to show that we have "X" number of people from these states voting from abroad, thus resulting in closer monitoring of absentee ballots. With so many close races, we know that we have the numbers to change election outcomes, Finally, we can use this data to show the media and our representatives how important overseas voters are. This translates to better visibility regarding our issues and the ability to attract quality speakers abroad.

We have been assured that the DNC will respects privacy laws, and all information obtained remains within the DNC. Absolutely no lists are given out or sold.

You do not have to attend meetings to be a member or be on our mailing list. We can either send you our monthly newsletter, or simply contact you when there is an event. Your choice, just let us know.

Please send en email, with the following information to chair_democratsabroadmunich@yahoo.com.

· Name (title, last, first)

· Home address (abroad)

· Phone:(home, work, Mobile, Fax) *only those where you are willing to receive calls*

· Email address

· Are you a U.S. citizen? Green Card holder?

· Voting Home address (state, city, county, zip)

· Are you a D.A. officer/committee member?

· Special Skills?

· Special Requests or comments

Kind Regards,

Dr. Rebecca Downey
Chair - Dems Abroad Munich

Want to help with the victoms of Katrina, then go here and make your donations to the American Red Cross. Aidmatrix

Enjoyed reading the thread.

Best of luck to the Dems. Go with Hillary.

Whenever I get a little concerned about a Democrat resurgence, I take comfort in quotes complaining how the Democrats aren't liberal enough.

May I encourage unsatisfied liberals to submit your vote to a more liberal third party candidate?

The more liberal and every other overseas American for that matter can join The Progressive Democrats

If you think that our troops should get out of Iraq sooner rather than later, then please sign our petition. It is sponsored by the Progressive Caucus of Democrats Abroad (in formation) and has been endorsed by Democrats Abroad Germany.

A Resolution to Bring Home the Troops Petition

Check this out and then go sign the petition!

Speech by US Air Force Col Robert Bowman:

I want to start with a scary thought: Can you imagine what would have happened if George W. Bush had been President during the Cuban missile Crisis.

You people who are out here protesting, you are the shock troops battling to preserve our cherished freedoms. You know our freedoms are not under attack from the remnants of Saddam Hussein’s Bathist Party. They’re under attack by the likes of John Ashcroft. They’re trampled by Donald Rumsfeld, they’re disdained by Dick Cheney, and they’re not even understood by George W. Bush.

The battle to preserve our freedoms is not taking place in Baghdad and Tikrit and Falluja. It’s taking place in peace marches and demonstrations in Ghiradeli Park in San Francisco, in Memorial Park in Oklahoma City, and in Lafayette Park in Washington, DC.

The front lines are right here. You are preserving our cherished freedoms by exercising them in spite of ridicule and opposition. The battle to preserve our freedoms is you.

You are the foot soldiers protecting our civil rights.

You are the Minutemen sounding the alarm against tyranny.

You are upholding the spirit of the American Revolution.

You are preserving the freedoms that the troops in the desert have a right to come back to.

The troops getting shot at in Iraq are not protecting us, we are protecting them and their honor and their freedom. We my sisters and brothers are protecting this nation by speaking truth to power.

We’re speaking truth to a pack of liars.

We must do it loudly and fearlessly and courageously and joyfully, for we are the Patriots. And when we speak, this is the truth that we proclaim:

This war in Iraq has nothing to do with National Security or freedom or democracy or human rights or protecting our allies or weapons of mass destruction or defeating terrorism or disarming Iraq. It has to do with money, it has to do with oil, and it has to do with raw imperial power. And it’s based totally on lies.

Those that forced this war on an unwilling world are guilty of violating the US Constitution, the UN Charter, the Nuremburg Principles and International Law. What they have done is illegal, immoral, unconstitutional and treason!

Before this war started, we knew it would fracture NATO, split the United Nations, separate us from our allies destroy the great nation we inherited from our fathers who died in World War II, and it has.

We knew it would make our beloved country feared and hated and outcast among the world community, a pariah among the peoples and the number one rogue nation on Earth, and it has.

This is nothing but treason.

We knew this sadistic corporate war would incense the Arab world, provide thousands of new Osama bin Ladens and enormously increase the terrorist threat, and it has.

We knew it would further endanger the American people and the British people and destroy our National Security, and it has.

This cabal of neoconservatives from PNAC who planned this war, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Libby, Perle, Jeb Bush - even before Dubya became President - they told us why they had to do it, they said we need to occupy Iraq permanently in order to dominate Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and the southern Russian Republics around the Caspian Sea. We need to control the entire Middle East and all it’s oil.

This is nothing but treason.

Hear it here.

Video part 1

Video part 2

Thanks Eurovol: Strong, truthful speech.

Great site by the was: http://www.truthemergency.us/

It should be noted that Lt. Col Robert Bowman, retired from the USAF back in 1997/98.. If he were stll serving he would have been removed from duty and Court-martialed for treason..

The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ-Article 134) expressly forbids
"disloyal" statements made "with the intent to promote disloyalty or disaffection toward the United States by any member of the armed forces or to interfere with or impair the loyalty to the United States or good order and discipline of any member of the armed forces."

When you join the military you kiss you 1st amendments rights goodbye... As well as a few other rights..

Been there done that and the "catch all" article is a shame as it doesn't specifically state shit! Personally, I would take any order coming from the Whitehouse as unlawful as Bush was not lawfully elected in 2000. Fucking activists conservative Judges gave him an unlawful win and the wimps in Congress did not stand up and object.

That is why I am standing up now and voicing my 1st amendment rights.