Memo to Nancy Pelosi from Cindy Sheehan

October 12, 2010

Open Memo

To: Nancy Pelosi

From Cindy Sheehan

Hey Nan,

How’s that “liberal agenda” going for you these days?

You have had quite a run as the first female Speaker of the House, haven’t you?

In that almost four years now, you have fully funded the wars; rammed through the bankster bailouts and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Modernization Act; refused to hold the criminals of the Bush administration accountable; supported the torture policies of George Bush and wanted even stricter measures against suspected terrorists; obediently supported and defended the murderous Israeli oppression of Palestine; presided over the worst jobs’ hemorrhage since the Great Depression (can you see all the jobless and homeless from your mansion on the hill in Pac Heights?) and the only “victory” that you can claim is a feeble health care “reform” bill that you admit you had no idea what it contained, when in reality, it was just a massive welfare program for your corporate buddies in the industry.

You are going to become a lame duck Speaker early next month when your party loses its majority—now don’t think I am thrilled that the Republicans are returning to a majority, at least in your House, because I think your party and the GOP are just different sides of the same coin—but you can’t say I didn’t warn you back in 2006 that if you and your party didn’t end the wars and hold BushCo accountable that your euphoria would be short-lived.

I literally brought that warning home to you in 2008 when I stood for election against you as an Independent in your district. I again tried to send you the gift of a wake up call through my platform and candidacy that ending the wars;, increasing jobs here in the US; fully funding education; protecting people’s homes from eviction and foreclosure; protecting the environment from destruction; and justice for war crimes were what the people wanted. Nancy, your party’s impending defeat proves that if you ever were in touch with “the people,” that time passed long before you assumed the Speaker’s gavel and when you relinquish the gavel, you will be just another empty lavender pants suit—an obscenely expensive lavender pants suit, but empty all the same.

So you can’t say that I didn’t warn you and your colleagues that the people shouldn’t be ignored. I now realize that the warning fell on deaf ears and was futile, but also that the political game your party and the other party play are far more important to you than the people of this world are, anyway.

With the elections rapidly approaching on November 2, you once again are up for re-election yourself and the people of San Francisco will dutifully obey their Democratic impulses and send you back to DC one more time, no matter how atrocious you have been, (The question of the day, though, Nan, is when you lose your Speakership will you resign your seat? Hey, I know! Maybe you and your good buddy, George Bush, can have play dates in your mutual retirements?) but you do have opponents. I know of two for sure, the firmly antiwar Republican, John Dennis and the firmly antiwar and anti-Capitalist Peace and Freedom Candidate Gloria La Riva.

My good friend, SF politico and former VP Candidate, Matt Gonzalez, has endorsed John Dennis because, as is your custom, you gutlessly refused to debate him. I am also encouraging you (once again, futilely) to not only debate John Dennis, but Gloria La Riva, too.

I like and admire both John and Gloria and support them as human beings who both have the two things that you lack but would have made you a much better person: courage and integrity.

As someone who got a kick in the teeth from the political school of elitism two years ago, I can’t endorse anyone for Federal elections which I believe are only a huge sham and scandal at any rate, but I am convinced that either John or Gloria would represent district 8 in California far better than you have on your best day.

I did warn you many times and I would childishly like to say: “I told ya so,” but there is so much at stake here on proverbial Main Street that I don’t feel like your defeat is going to be a victory (frankly, your party's unlikely victory would also be a defeat for Main Street) for anybody except the non-partisan ruling class that pulls the levers to propagate their agenda and pad their bank accounts at our expense.

In never-ending struggle against everything you represent,

Cindy Sheehan

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DISSENT IN THE AGE OF OBAMA--MY FIRST ARTICLE FOR AL JAZEERA

http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2010/10/2010105104959212813.html

“The welfare of the people in particular has always been the alibi of tyrants, and it provides the further advantage of giving the servants of tyranny a good conscience.” - Albert Camus

Recently, the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) raided the homes of at least eight anti-war/social justice activists here in the US.

I happen to be a prominent anti-war activist myself, and have joked that I am a “little hurt” that I was not raided and perhaps I should try harder. Even though, we have the urge to try and be light-hearted in this time of an increasing police state, with civil liberties on the retreat, it really isn't funny considering that the activists could face some serious charges stemming from these raids.

I have felt this harassment on a smaller scale myself and I know that defending oneself against a police state that has unlimited resources, time and cruelty, can be quite expensive, time consuming and annoying.

There is nothing noble about an agency that has reduced itself to being jackbooted enforcers of a neo-fascist police state, no matter how much the FBI has been romanticised in movies, television and books.

For example, in one instance, early in the morning of September 24, at the home of Mick Kelly of Minneapolis, the door was battered in and flung across the room when his partner audaciously asked to see the FBI’s warrant through the door’s peephole. At Jessica Sundin’s home, she walked downstairs to find seven agents ransacking her home while her partner and child looked on in shock.

These raids have terrifying implications for dissent here in the US.

First of all, these US citizens have been long-time and devoted anti-war activists who organised an anti-war rally that was violently suppressed by the US police state in Minneapolis-St. Paul, during the 2008 Republican National Convention. Because the Minneapolis activists have integrity, they had already announced that they would do the same if the Democrats hold their convention there in 2012.

I have observed that it was one thing to be anti-Bush, but to be anti-war in the age of Obama is not to be tolerated by many people. If you will also notice, the only people who seem to know about the raids are those of us already in the movement. There has been no huge outcry over this fresh outrage, either by the so-called movement or the corporate media.

I submit that if George Bush were still president, or if this happened under a McCain/Palin regime, there would be tens of thousands of people in the streets to protest. This is one of the reasons an escalation in police state oppression is so much more dangerous under Obama - even now, he gets a free pass from the very same people who should be adamantly opposed to such policies.

Secondly, I believe because the raids happened to basically ‘unsung’ and unknown, but very active workers in the movement, that the coordinated, early morning home invasions were designed to intimidate and frighten those of us who are still doing the work. The Obama regime would like nothing better than for us to shut up or go underground and to quit embarrassing it by pointing out its abject failures and highlighting its obvious crimes.

Just look at how the Democrats are demonising activists who are trying to point out the inconvenient truth that the country (under a near Democratic tyranny) is sliding further into economic collapse, environmental decay and perpetual war for enormous profit.

Barack and Joe, the commandantes of this police state, say that those who have the temerity to be critical are “asleep” and just need to “buck up". White House spokesperson, Robert Gibbs, recently stated that we on the “professional left” need to be “drug tested” if we are not addicted to the regimes’ own drug: the Hopium of the Obama propaganda response team.

It seems like, even though some of those that have been nailed to the cross of national security do activism around South America, most of the activism is anti-war and pro-Palestinian rights. Being supportive of any Arab or Muslim, no matter how benign or courageous is a very dangerous activity here in post-9/11 America.

The Supreme Court just decided (Wilner v. National Security Agency) that the National Security Agency (NSA) did not have to disclose if it was using warrantless wiretapping to spy on attorneys representing the extra-legal detention of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Obtaining warrants, with cause, and attorney-client privilege were important principles of the US justice system, but even the neo-fascist Supreme Court is undermining the law - talk about “activist” judges!

Not only have activists been targeted here in the States, but Obama has ominously declared himself judge, jury and executioner of anyone that he deems a national security “threat". These are the actions of a tyrant and another assault against our rights and against the rule of law from a person who promised “complete transparency” from his administration.

We have learned that Obama’s first victim under his presidential execution programme is Anwar al-Awlaki, a US-born Muslim who is now in Yemen. Without showing proof of al-Awlaki’s so-called executionable offenses and without a trial in a court of law, Obama has unloosed his hit squads on Awlaki. Is there anyone out there reading this who does not believe, or fear, that this programme could quickly descend into summary executions within the borders of the US?

Al-Awlaki’s father has filed a motion in federal court to stay the execution of his son until he gets his constitutionally guaranteed rights to due process, but Obama’s justice department has refused to cooperate stating that to do so would ‘undermine’ that fabled, exploited and ephemeral ‘national security'.

When Obama behaves like Bush, only on steroids, he amply demonstrates why other people hate our country so much. Persons in other countries are not nearly as blind as Americans. They know that even though Obama went to Cairo to blather about building understanding between the US and the Muslim world, actions speak louder than words and Obama’s actions drip with carnage and pain.

Obviously, the suppression of dissent here in the US, while outrageous and inexcusable, has not reached the level of the McCarthy witch hunts of the 1950’s - yet.

The longer we Americans remain silent in the face of these injustices, the more they will continue to occur and escalate.

Make your voice heard!

Cindy Sheehan is the mother of Specialist Casey A. Sheehan who was killed in Iraq on April 4, 2004. Since then, she has been a tireless activist for peace and human rights; has published five books, has her own Internet radio show: Cindy Sheehan’s Soapbox, and has been nominated in the past for the Noble Peace Prize. Cindy lives in Oakland, Ca and loves to spend time with her three grandbabies in her spare time.

You can learn more about Cindy's activism and events at Peace of the Action.

The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial policy.

MORE B.S. CHARGES AGAINST ME by Cindy Sheehan

MORE BS CHARGES AGAINST ME

Cindy Sheehan

In November 2009, I joined a caravan of peace activists that gathered at Travis AFB in Fairfield, Ca to head to Creech AFB in Nevada where many of the drone strikes in Afghanistan are coordinated and controlled from.

We were scheduled to stop at several AFBs along the way to protest this particularly inhumane practice, but I have to say that our Travis AFB stop started us off with a bang.

There were about 12 of us on the caravan and as we got out of our cars at the main gate of Travis, we were loudly and aggressively accosted by an old man wearing a very tight military uniform. Of course, he screamed all of the clichés like: “traitors,” “cowards,” and the ubiquitous, “why don’t you get a job.” However, usually the war-niks don’t physically cross-over to the peace side, but this one did.

We formed our small protest holding banners and we did the dance with the Military Police of where we could stand, where we couldn’t stand, etc—and we were just getting ready to get back in our cars when the Veteran approached me and started yelling in my ear as I was giving a statement to the local press that were gathered.

I turned around to him to tell him to get out of my space, when he put his face directly into my bullhorn, while still screaming his inanities and insanities. At that time he violently slapped my bullhorn and threateningly stepped towards me, then some of the other ladies there stepped between us.

We tried to get the Fairfield PD, who were there to make sure our contingent of women (many who had to be physically helped in and out of our rented van) didn’t get out of hand, to arrest the man, but they said they would have to arrest us, too—because it was a “he-said, she-said” thing. (Yeah, right—they were right there and the video shows them placidly looking on while I was being accosted).

After some arguing with the police, we decided to leave and head to the next base, and we were rolling out of the parking lot when the Fairfield PD pulled ME over and gave me a ticket for “obstructing traffic.” That would be shocking if it weren’t so predictable. The officer that pulled me over had on a US Marines headband—hmmm?

To make a long story short, after 10 months of pre-lims, etc, I have to go to another hearing for a citation. It’s not a life and death situation, but it’s the “death of 1000 cuts” that steals our time and resources to try and wear us down.

The hearing is this Wednesday in Fairfield at the court at 8:30am, but from 7am to 8am, many of us will go back to Travis AFB to protest the usage of drones that has dramatically increased in the last ten months since the incident that I have described.

For example, just in Pakistan, during the entire eight-year war crime, more commonly known as the Bush Administration, there were 42 drone strikes. Just in the first 21 months of the current War Crime Administration, there have been 132—that’s an increase in raw numbers of over 300% in far less time. If Obama is president for eight-years, like Bush, his totals will surpass 600 strikes killing thousands more innocent people.

As the people of the Pakistani regions that are being targeted by these strikes correctly deduce, the Pakistani military, or government, or both are collaborating with the CIA in these strikes, the prediction that we made almost a year ago that these continuous strikes will further destabilize Pakistan are coming true.

Yes, of course, I have a hundred better things to do than go to Fairfield and protest the drone bombings and sit in a courtroom for a BS citation, but we have to keep standing up against our government for peace as they keep standing up for war.

Schedule:

Demo at the Main Gate of Travis AFB

7am to 8am

Travis AFB CA, 94535

Take Air Base Parkway off of Interstate 80 and go south to the end of the road to the Main Gate.

Court for me

8:30 Am

Solano County Superior Court

Traffic

Department 26

Address:

600 Union Ave.

Fairfield, Ca 94533

Did He Really Say That? by Cindy Sheehan

Did He Really Say That?

“We can absorb a terrorist attack. We’ll do everything we can to prevent it, but even a 9/11, even the biggest attack ever . . . we absorbed it and we are stronger.”

Barack Obama in Obama’s Wars by Bob Woodward

Again, the arrogance of U.S. Robber Class politicians is astonishing!

I know I just have a modest internet talk show and a blog that only reaches thousands, but I am going to put in a request to interview Barack Obama, because I doubt, with the resignation of the only tough-ish person in the White House Press Corps, Helen Thomas, that any other so-called journalist has the guts to go against the Emperor and ask just one simple question—“Mr. President, who or what do you mean by ‘us’?” Is it another case of: “It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is.” (Bill Clinton).

Maybe Obama was suffering from the delusion of, “What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger,” but looking from the perspective of someone who was greatly weakened in so many ways by the attacks of 9/11, and from all of my other experiences since then, I can say what and who has not been made “stronger.”

Many families here in the US have had members killed, maimed or emotionally wounded starting on 9/11 and continuing every day since then. By this past week, 2010 was the deadliest year for our military in Afghanistan, already. It is just September, and 2010 has been only surpassed in carnage by the other year in the Obama regime—2009. And the other “crazy” thing is, troops keep dying in Iraq, even though that “war” is “over.”

I can also say that the millions of people who have been killed, maimed or displaced in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan (which Obama thinks is the “real threat”) have not been strengthened in the short-term or long-term—but, hey—they don’t really count, now, do they?

Since 9/11, I have been arrested many times for just exercising my civil rights to free speech and freedom of expression, and I am just one of thousands—I don’t think our civil liberties are “stronger” since 9/11. In fact, just today, antiwar and social justice activists had their homes raided in all parts of this country by the FBI. I resent having to, for all intents and purposes, walk nude throughout airport security and I resent the entire police state mentality of airport personnel who, but for the “grace” of 9/11 could just as likely be saying: “would you like that super-sized,” as “I’m going to have to search you.” Even their lives aren’t better being wage slaves for the Police State.

Speaking of that, everyone I know in my wide circle of concern is either unemployed or underemployed. For example, my son, a new father, is working three jobs just to provide for his small family and hasn’t worked in his trade as a land surveyor for a year and a half. Andy’s story is not an unusual or special one. The job market has certainly not been made "stronger." The housing market has not been made "stronger" and OUR economy is as weak as my newborn grandson. It has no muscle tone or control and can only whine and scream because that’s the only way it can express itself now. At least my grandbaby is adorable.

I can name a few institutions that have been made “stronger” since 9/11: The Police State and all its apparatus; the Military Industrial Complex and its tentacles: the Pentagon, the State Department, war profiteers, corporate media; Wall Street; the surviving banks; and especially the government. The rich are literally getting richer, and the poor are growing poorer. The income gap is wider than it ever has been since 1929!

Tragically—the numbers of people falling into poverty and into homelessness have been strengthened, as have the numbers of people who are losing their health insurance.

Whether Osama bin Laden perpetrated 9/11 from a cave in northern Afghanistan--or Dick Cheney planned it from his cave in Mordor--OBL’s stated goal of total destruction of the U.S. Empire is proceeding apace and I can’t fully comprehend what another “terrorist” attack would do to this nation—the institutions, people, and societal norms that were weakened by 9/11 will be furthered weakened and the ones that were made “stronger” will be further strengthened. I can foresee only a bleak future under Obama’s Absorption Theory—complete tyranny in the U.S because of complete economic breakdown that will probably lead to isolated incidences of internal rebellion that will be violently suppressed in the name of “National Security and Stability.”

I have read some Obamapologists saying that he was “correct;” that our nation was made “stronger.” This line of thinking goes: We were afraid at first, but eventually when WE were not attacked (by the terr’ists) again—we went about our daily lives as if nothing ever happened. Well, I say: that’s exactly what is wrong with this nation. Three-thousand Americans were killed that day, which wasn’t bad enough—but almost 6000 (official count) Americans have been killed in the Middle East/Asia since then. And as the mother of one of those, I can attest to the fact that not many people feel as connected to this tragic figure as they are to the ones murdered on 9/11. Our soldiers have been misused in this phony war of terror began by Bush and perpetuated by Obama.

After 9/11, instead of becoming self-reflective, we mostly allowed our government to steal our flesh and blood, kill and torture millions of others and descend into this Police State that is protected from accountability, because we the people are still afraid of our own shadows. We (as a whole) haven’t “absorbed” crap—we have deflected it as far away from us as possible. Most of us are still afraid, but most of those that are still afraid are fearful of the wrong things. The real terrorists reside at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave and other posh residences in the beltway.

We are speedily careening to November 2nd, when many of us will be going to the polls to vote for the “Party of No.” Do you think I mean the Republicans? No, I mean the other “Party of No,” the Democrats.

One thing the Obama regime has shown me is that the Democrats are also the Party of No: NO peace, No justice, NO relevant healthcare reform, NO improvement in education, NO civil liberties, NO economic justice, NO environmental sustainability, NO jobs, NO anything that is positive for we that were made weaker after 9/11.

Yes, it’s been a feast for the vampires of economic disaster and the pigs of war since 9/11 and I don’t foresee any change coming at the ballot box. The ravenous feasters want your food, too—and they want you to believe that voting will hamper, or at least slow, their access to your measly crumbs. It obviously won’t.

Go ahead and go vote for the Party of No (D or R) on November 2nd—but know that’s what you are getting. Your vote for the Party of No (D or R) only strengthens the apparatus of control and oppression (I am going to go vote in California: Yes on 19!) and you get nothing in return.

Solution? Intentional grass roots communities that break away from the Robber Class institutions to make our families and communities stronger and to weaken the Police State—you can read more about those in my Internet booklet, Myth America.

Relentless Propaganda by Cindy Sheehan

Relentless Propaganda

“(Propaganda) proceeds by psychological manipulations, character modifications, by creation of stereotypes useful when the time comes - The two great routes that this sub-propaganda takes are the conditioned reflex and the myth”
Jacques Ellul

I can’t tell this story enough—and it fits into this piece:

On July 4th 2006, I, and dozens of other antiwar activists began what we called: “Troops Home Fast.” It was supposed to be a fast until the troops were coming home from Iraq (Note: After 39 days, I ended up in the hospital with another condition and I had to have two emergency surgeries and 2 blood transfusions, so I had to stop). So a few days after the fast began, I was invited to go on MSNBCs Hardball, and I was told I was invited so I could talk about our fast.

Well, instead of appearing with the juicy Chris Matthews, the guest host that day was neocon, Norah O’Donnell. She introduced me as the “woman who met with ‘communist dictator,’ Hugo Chavez of Venezuela.” We went to a phony break (because the show is taped) and I said: “You know, Norah, Chavez is neither a communist—he’s a socialist, nor a dictator. He’s been democratically elected several times and survived a coup attempt orchestrated and paid for by our own government.”

I will never, ever forget her answer: “We know, but we had a meeting and we decided to call him a ‘communist dictator’ anyway.” This is on MSNBC, the supposedly “liberal” cable news network.
Recently, on MSNBC, we saw establishment critic (oops, only when a Republican is in office), Keith Olbermann call Karl Marx a “lousy thinker,” when even the most anti-Marxist in the world would have to concede that Marx was one of the most brilliant thinkers and political/social philosophers in modern history—anyway, that’s a little off the subject.

Currently, I am making a documentary film about Venezuela and President Chavez and the people’s revolution there called, the Bolivarian Revolution—and what happened on September 17th, is one of the reasons I am doing so. Of course, in making this film, I am obsessed with all things Venezuelan and all the news from and about the country and its charismatic president and that’s how this “news” item crossed my path—the headline:

US couple accused of trying to sell nuclear secrets to Venezuela.

(Extra, extra, read all about it!)

Well, we know in the past decade, that if the U.S. Military junta wants to invade a country, they start a demonization campaign that should have the requisite “nuclear component” in it—Iraq (WMD, “mushroom cloud”) and Iran are perfect current examples of nuclear-fear bullcrap.

Now look at that bold headline that appeared on CNN online on September 17th via the U.K. Guardian—if you were the average, casual consumer of the “news” and you had already had the stuffing propagandized out of you that Chavez is a “communist dictator” that "supports terrorism," what would you automatically think? You would think exactly what the headline wants you to think—that Venezuela is in the market to make nuclear weapons by purchasing secrets from the undisputed champion of the manufacture and usage of nuclear weaponry: the USA. (We're number one!)

If you had the perseverance and time, you would have to go to the final paragraph of the “news” piece to read this little tidbit: “The justice department statement was at pains to spell out that Venezuela was not involved: "The indictment does not allege that the government of Venezuela or anyone acting on its behalf sought or was passed any classified information, nor does it charge any Venezuelan government officials or anyone acting on their behalf with wrongdoing."

Jacques Ellul (French sociologist and philosopher in the 20th C) also said: “The goal of modern propaganda is no longer to transform opinion, but to arouse an active and mythical belief.”

Not only is the global media junta having a great success in demonizing all things Venezuelan, this targeted propaganda campaign is being partnered with an active “Plan Venezuela” to not just isolate Venezuela in public opinion, but to isolate it militarily from its allies and neighbors.
Being extremely frightened by what Noam Chomsky calls: “The threat of a good example,” the U.S. has staffed seven military bases in Colombia while spreading the lie that Chavez supports the FARC there. While rejoicing in the propaganda that Chavez is a “drug dealer,” the U.S. has placed 7,000 Marines in Costa Rica to ostensibly fight the phony War on Drugs—and only the U.S. Military junta knows why it reactivated the 4th Naval Fleet in the Bush years to send to the Caribbean.

The ultimate goal of our documentary about Venezuela called, Revolution, A Love Story is to show people in my own country of birth that a grassroots revolution to overthrow the entrenched, diseased U.S. system is possible because illiterate peasants in Venezuela were empowered by education and the “threat of a good example” to overthrow the U.S. corporate neo-liberalism that kept them impoverished and uneducated under colonialism (even if it eventually was “liberated,” either the Spanish or U.S. controlled it) for centuries.
Reject the relentless propaganda—my story illustrates how the media not only lies to us, but also holds meetings to figure out the best ways to propagandize us.

This was exposing just one small piece of the demonization of Vz, for a more extensive analysis, read:

US Media Intensifies Campaign Against Chavez

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