Americans Abroad For Russ Feingold

Yet another failure of US intelligence and diplomacy

2006-11-05T14:08:00.000-08:00

On October 27th, 2006 President Bush signed yet another Executive Order that once again clearly demonstrates why America needs a complete change of leadership. This Executive Order seemed straight forward enough, freezing the assets of “war lords and arms dealers” in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. One man, General Laurent Nkunda is singled out for particular attention and reveals the scope and depth of the breakdown of the American intelligence and diplomatic network. We must also never forget that an Executive Order from President Bush that gives him powers under the National Emergencies Act, can never be accepted as straight forward.

Most Americans know very little about the situation in the east of the DR Congo. According to the UN many very large American, British and German multinational companies have played an active, critical role in supplying arms and supporting many of the government and armed militias ability to carry out significant human rights abuses in this part of the world for many years. The international news media for its part will only print or report about stories in the DR Congo that confirm how the east of this country is a “lawless” place where people die. The last UN Human Rights Report, for the month of September 2006, reveals that the Integrated National Army of the DR Congo is the main perpetrator of the more than 60 Human Rights violations registered during that month. There were no violations attributed to the forces of General Nkunda.

So why did President Bush choose this moment in time to view General Nkunda as “an unusual and extraordinary threat to the foreign policy of the United States and hereby declare a national emergency to deal with that threat.” This is the same President Bush who prides himself on being tough on terror and national security issues and who has been conspicuous by his total lack of concern for the results of the UN report implicating many well known multinational American, British and German firms in engaging in arms for minerals deals in the east of the DR Congo that have continued for at least the last 10 years. The timing of this Executive Order when there are no ongoing armed hostilities in General Nkunda’s area and coming so close to the American midterm elections, appears to reflect that intelligence is once again being used for partisan American political purposes. Over the last few months General Nkunda has expressed his heartfelt belief that there has in fact been far too much death and dying in his country and was willing to engage in discussions to resolve any outstanding issues. A reasonable American who has witnessed the unnecessary death and dying in Iraq must therefore conclude that President Bush’s Executive Order is more clearly linked to American domestic politics in the run up to the US mid term elections next week than to any US security threat posed by General Nkunda.

The reality of the situation on the ground in the east of the DR Congo is that there is a continuing human tragedy that needs to be addressed in a comprehensive manner if economic freedom and prosperity is ever to come to this very troubled yet exceedingly beautiful land. America needs to be part of the process of developing economic and political solutions for the east of the DR Congo. The last thing the east of the DR Congo needs is instability that is driven by an American Presidents need to retain his majority in Congress.

General Nkunda is quite open in his willingness to discuss how investment and diplomacy can be utilized to help restore lasting peace in the DR Congo. The failure of American intelligence and diplomacy experts to be willing to consider any other option than the Iraq model of “sanctions turning into American military intervention” leads a reasonable American to conclude that we need a complete change of direction for America. The Bush/Rice Foreign Policy reality is to lead America into an endless series of hopeless Vietnam style quagmires much like what we are witnessing in Iraq. As Americans, are we willing to accept a continuation of the DR Congo tragedy so President Bush can retain his majority in Congress?

To help us understand how far we as a country have fallen from our ability to lead the world through diplomacy, let us compare the visions for America of President Bush and President Kennedy. Present Bush finds “threats” and National Security emergencies that require sanctions and military action when others are asking for a diplomatic solution. President Bush expresses his vision for America as an endless number of people and situations that “…constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to the foreign policy of the United States and hereby declare a national emergency to deal with that threat.” President Kennedy referred to his vision for our nation with these words, “We are always conscious of the obligation which rests upon all members of the United Nations to seek peaceful solutions to problems of this sort.”

I hope that we as Americans have had enough of these constant “threat” declarations that are based on faulty intelligence and diplomacy. We are a nation of diplomacy and peace that has never been afraid to use force as a last resort and when necessary, but how many more American soldiers need to needlessly die in places like the east of the DR Congo or Iraq before we are willing to elect leaders who are not afraid to use diplomacy more often than sanctions and military force.

This current Executive Order can only be termed another failure of the US diplomatic and intelligence communities. President Bush by unilaterally and preemptively issuing his Executive Order before even attempting to discuss other options has once again chosen to lead America on a path toward instability and less security at home and in places like the DR Congo and Iraq. Places that have only known instability, death and dying for far too many years.
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Background Links:
Link to the Executive Order

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/10/20061031-2.html
Link to the Monuc (UN) Monthly Human Rights Assessment: September 2006

http://www.monuc.org/news.aspx?newsID=12627

How many failures will the American voter endure before they realize we need vastly different leadership?

2006-08-08T01:37:00.000-07:00

As we approach the midterm elections it appears the total failures of American foreign and defense policy under the Bush reign needs to be brought to the constant attention of the voters. Hopefully we will not again resort, as a party to personal attacks that have become so wide spread the last few years.

This headline from today is only one of many pro-active and passive failures that have made us less secure at home and allowed the people who want to harm freedom loving people the world over experience a wholesale loss of peace and security under an America ruled by Bush.

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Iraqi premier criticizes U.S. attack

BAGHDAD, Iraq -

Iraq's prime minister sharply criticized a U.S.-Iraqi attack Monday on a Shiite militia stronghold in Baghdad, breaking with his American partners on security tactics as the United States launches a major operation to secure the capital. more
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Meanwhile now that the Democratic Republic of the Congo has recently held free elections for the first time in over 40 years and America has been AWOL from providing real assistance in the voting preparation and in the counting process. Now the results are in question because the ability to even count the results is seriously outdated.

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Observers: Disorder plagues Congo count

KINSHASA, Congo - An unmarked ballot wafts in the breeze. Congolese election workers doze. Pieces of concrete weigh down stacks of vote tally sheets, keeping them from blowing away. A week after Congo's presidential elections unfolded in relative peace, experts say the disorder and chaos that has long hobbled the Central African country is creeping into the tallying — raising questions about the fairness of the outcome. more
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Senator Feingold has always done so well at developing policy ideas that demonstrates his belief that people really do matter. We all need to work to be sure the voters understand that the total failure of America diplomacy in the DR Congo, Iraq and Lebanon has all contributed to make us less secure and at risk from those who would harm freedom loving people the world over.

At the midterm elections - Vote for change with a purpose - The Progressive way - vote to assist freedom-loving people at home and the world over.

Perhaps from all the death and destruction hope can be built but only with new leadership.

2006-08-06T04:12:00.000-07:00

Today there were 2 articles from the Jerusalem Post and one from the Washington Post that could in fact mark the beginning of the end of the Bush ill-conceived "war on terror". We need to resolve to spend as much to develop “strategies for peace” as we do “strategies of war”.

In Israel, Questions About the Conflict

"After an extraordinary national surge of unanimity during the first days of the conflict, public support is starting to fray, with some of the nation's most influential voices criticizing political leaders and Israel Defense Forces generals for military strategies they say have failed to protect Israeli citizens." More

Analysis: Victory from the jaws of defeat?

For many Israelis, this was a weekend of stocktaking. The first wave of reservists arrived home for short leaves and supplied their families and friends with better reports than any newspaper can give. The impression was mixed.

"I'm still shocked by the amount of screw-ups I've seen at every possible level," was the verdict of one veteran company commander. More

Security and Defense: Marching backward?

IDF officers are beginning to come to terms with the fact that they may walk away from this war without a major victory. "Prepare for the possibility that we may not win," was how one senior officer put it this week. More

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Then there was the news from Iraq this week:

U.S. General Says Iraq Could Slide Into a Civil War

WASHINGTON, Aug. 3 Ãƒ‚Â— The commander of American forces in the Middle East bluntly warned a Senate committee on Thursday that sectarian violence in Iraq, especially in the capital, Baghdad, had grown so severe that the nation could slide toward civil war. The commander, Gen. John P. Abizaid, also acknowledged that since the security situation remained so unstable, significant reductions in American forces were unlikely before the end of this year. More

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How can any of this be good news you may ask? The answer of course lies in the ability of we the people to re-order the priorities of the Bush "war on Terror". How many failures of the "shock and awe" strategy do we have to endure before we really look for new leadership to develop new foreign policy strategies that are based on the premise that if people are not really valued then the strategies that are used, especially military strategies, will always fall far short of the intended result and always at the loss of too many innocent civilians. The issue in both the Lebanon and Iraq conflicts is not if one country has the right to defend itself from a viable threat from another country or group of terrorists. The question that has to be asked is has the country in question done absolutely every thing within its power to ensure these situations do not boil over into armed conflict. In our case we American have to ask it we have developed a diplomatic effort to objectively address the underlying issues of the conflict.

As we now know, US foreign policy under Rice, Rumsfield and Bush is an absolute and utter failure and our direction is basically and fatally flawed. As a country, we in the US must also accept full and complete responsibility of any other country that borrows the game plan for the execution of our "War on Terror" that results in the needless loss of life that we have witnessed in Lebanon and Iraq. As a country we Americans have totally forgotten the words of another American General – Eisenhower. He foretold exactly what would happen with unbridled militarism. Our real American leaders like Senator Feingold, have taken on the fight Eisenhower started in 1961 when he left office. Any country who relies exclusively on the military option will spell the beginning of the end of a free democracy. We in America have now begun to witness the wholesale loss of our freedoms. How much more are we willing to tolerate? We need solutions and we need real diplomats especially in the positions of Secretary of State and Defense. We all hold the ideas for the solutions if only we will listen.

Some possible solutions for American foreign policy in the region that would go a long way toward solving the current difficult situation are listed below. This is not a complete list, by any means, but any one of these ideas are a small step in the right direction for ending the present exclusive use of the military in both Lebanon and Iraq to solve the problems of people. The road is not easy and now the road is very long but we in America need to start the long trip of a thousand miles one step at a time.

This suggestion comes from the Tikkun community of Rabbi Lerner

“As the Tikkun Community has outlined in the past, the terms of that settlement should include:

1. Permanent boundaries for both states that roughly resemble the pre-67 borders, with some border adjustments mutually agreed to along lines developed in the Geneva Accord (Israel incorporating some of the border settlements into Israel, in exchange for Israel giving equal amounts and quality of land to the Palestinian State).

2. Sharing of Jerusalem and its holy sites, with each side entitled to establish their national capital in Jerusalem, Israel to have control over the Jewish and Armenian quarters plus the Wall and adjacent territory, and Palestine to have control over the Temple Mount with its mosques.

3. All states participating in the International Conference would dedicate at least .1% of their GDP toward an international fund for reparations for Palestinians who lost property, employment or homes in the period 1947-1967, and to Jews who fled from Arab states in the same period (however, reparations will not be paid to any Arab or Jewish family with current gross assets of more than $5 million dollars).

4. A joint Israel/Palestine/International Community police force will be set up to enforce border security for both sides. The U.S. and Nato will enter into a mutual security pact for both parties guaranteeing that each side will be protected by the U.S. and Nato from any assault by the other or by any assault from any other country in the world.

5. Creation of an Atonement and Reconciliation Commission which will unveil all records of both sides, bring to light all violations of human rights on both sides, bring formal charges against those who do not confess their involvement in those violations and testify to the details, and supervise a newly created peace curriculum for all schools and universities aimed at teaching reconciliation and non-violence in action and communication. The explicit goal of this Commission will be to foster the conditions for a reconciliation of the heart and a new understanding on the part of both peoples that each side has been cruel and insensitive, and need to repent, and that both sides have a legitimate narrative that needs to be understood and accepted as a legitimate viewpoint by the other side.”

This suggestion comes from Professor Prof. Eugène Richard Sensenig-Dabbous, MA PhD LibanLink DiversityCentre - MENA Bureau Lebanon

1) Israel must be aware that the world is watching. NGOs and civil society in general should prepare to put pressure on the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the relevant human rights bodies to try both Hizbollah and the State of Israel for the crimes they have committed over the last few weeks.

2) Lebanon will be receiving huge amounts of international aid to rebuild the country. Following the 16 year Lebanese Civil War, between 1/3 and 50% of the aid received from abroad for reconstruction went into the coffers of corrupt war lords, corporate bosses and religious fanatics. Thus, foreign funding helped lay the foundation in the 1990s for the crisis we now have.

The solutions are not as difficult as our war President leads us to believe because Mr. Bush and his team have told us in word and deed that they are only interested in the war option. We the people must do all we can to encourage leaders like Senator Feingold to speak out and give out suggestions a voice.

We the people hold the keys to peace in our minds, all we must do is give them a voice before any more people have to die for a failed war strategy. Peace will work if we give it a chance. I thought we had learned that lesson many years ago in Vietnam.

Letter to Senator Feingold opposing the nomination of Ambassador Bolton

2006-07-23T15:22:00.000-07:00

Letter that was sent to Senator Feingolds office earlier today.

Hello Senator,

I wanted to express my hope that you will oppose the nomination of John Bolton for US Ambassador to the UN. The words you used when Sec. Rice was nominated express the reasons.

"But I am deeply troubled by the signal that this nomination appears to send -- a signal suggesting that the modest moderating influence of the State Department over the last four years will disappear, and that the next four years will be guided even more closely by the voices that shouted loudest in the first term, and that led our country into seriously flawed foreign policies. Our country cannot afford to continue down the foreign policy path that was forged during the first term of the Bush Administration. Over the past four years, we have witnessed the greatest loss of a very valuable type of American power in our history: our power to lead, to persuade, and to inspire."

We now see that the effects of American foreign policy has resulted in far too many deaths because we have a "war President" who encourages war when peace could work if America engaged in real Diplomacy and not a return to "Gunboat Diplomacy".

Janis Joplin said it well many years ago "freedoms nothing more than nothing left to loose." When we don't engage in Diplomacy in a timely manner then we conclude that war is the only answer. If our Ambassador to the Un is not able to feel Peace is ever a real option how can this be called Diplomacy? Ambassador Bolton is not qualified because he does not understand how to engage in real Diplomacy.

One line of reasoning that is used during confirmation hearings says the President needs his own "team" well "We the people" also needs a team that represents real American values of Diplomacy that is able to also consider Peace as an option.

Ambassador Bolton has demonstrated in his government positions and over the last year that he does not have the ability to engage in real American Diplomacy.

Thank you for your consideration of my thoughts as you vote.

Feingold and development of a new golden age of American diplomacy

2006-07-17T07:00:00.000-07:00

As we progressives work to finalize our policy and plans on our road to the White House with Russ as President, it is important to inform the American people that our progressive vision for America is based on well established principles and values that are practical and pragmatic. We believe that the best times in the history of America where when we have risen to the challenges we have faced as a nation and based our Diplomatic solutions on principles and values.

The press is full of many stories of voters being confused over the mainstream Democratic Party approach to any number of issues. When the official Democratic position of our candidates for President and Congress is – “As President I will fight the same war in Iraq but fight it differently”. I is no wonder the voters are confused. We progressives have been even more shortsighted when we say “the voters can surely see the problems of the Bush policies, all we have to do is show a candidate and we will win because the other side is so bad”. We now see how wrong this approach is. We need to articulate very clearly what our policies are and that we really offer the America voter solutions to the issues that really matter to them. There is probably no other place where our progressive approach will be vastly different than in the field of Foreign Policy and "The Art of American Diplomacy".

The events of the last almost 6 years in all parts of the world sadly demonstrate that America has totally abandoned the art of Diplomacy in dealing with any problem on the global front. It is now clear that Bush and his team are incapable of engaging in diplomacy and understanding how global diplomacy works.

This conclusion flows from both a practical and pragmatic analysis of the current state of American diplomatic efforts around the world. If we talk about the situations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo where the US has cut back what little assistance was flowing in the same year a peace treaty was signed. Hallow words flowed from the President and the Department of State that now that a peace treaty was signed America will be there and stand with the DR Congo as you build a democratic society. Or the situations in Indonesia or Malaysia where according to Senator Feingold the US has totally abandoned any diplomatic effort to bring about real solutions to the problems the ordinary people encounter as they try to build or rebuild their lives.

The words Senator Feingold used prior to the confirmation of Secretary Rice convey these thoughts much more clearly:

As we now see from the Bush approach to Foreign Affairs from the war in Iraq, Africa, trade and Israel/Lebanon policies, America has lost its ability to influence the events taking place in the world today.

Then came the story out of St. Petersburg of the open microphone :

Bush curses Hezbollah during G-8 luncheon

ST PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) - A microphone picked up an unaware President Bush saying on Monday, Syria should press Hezbollah to "stop doing this shit" and that his secretary of state may go to the Middle East soon." "See, the irony is what they need to do is get Syria to get Hezbollah to stop doing this shit and it's over, said Bush."

Is the problem the fact that the President uses words such as "shit" when discussing matters of great and grave importance? No, the problem is we would hope that our President would be a bit more dignified in his choice of words just as we would hope that our President would not be engaging in sexual activities in the Oval office. Neither activity is in keeping with the job the American public elected them to do.

The significant issue is also the fact that the US does not have the necessary Diplomatic influence to call the leader of other heads of state and engage in wide reaching diplomatic efforts in many of the explosive regions of the world.

One case in point is the American support of the Shah of Iran. A ruthless dictator who committed untold human rights abuses including "disappearances” or outright murder in order to suppress opposing views. Is it any reason the seeds of a fundamentalist state grew up in its place?.

The development of a new golden age of American Diplomacy and the new model of American Foreign policy needs to be one founded on what Rabbi Lerner terms the "new bottom line". The US must be willing to encourage people to see each other as fundamentally valuable. Currently Bush says it is acceptable to preemptively unleash the full fury of the US military against any country for any reason. The state of American Diplomacy is now focused on the fact that war is the only answer to all foreign policy issues.

The issue of course is the increasingly narrow focus of a diplomatic effort and the complete lack of urgency to develop a diplomatic effort that does not involve the usage of force. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo for instance there are elections coming up next week and yet there is still a serious problem according to NGO’s and the UN of arms smuggling in exchange of raw materials by internationally well-known companies. There is no comprehensive Diplomatic effort to address the problems in this part of Africa.

We progressives have the policies and Diplomatic skills to create a secure America and global community. It is time to move away from a diplomacy that is solely based on war to solve all foreign policy issues our world faces today.

Russ is right! If we want peace in Iraq we must leave ASAP.

2006-06-27T15:46:00.000-07:00

This headline required some comments......

U.S. says Baghdad crackdown moving slowly

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The U.S. military issued a sober assessment Tuesday of the Baghdad security crackdown, saying violence had decreased slightly but not to "the degree we would like to see" in the two weeks since 75,000 Iraqi and American troops flooded the capital.

(Full Link - http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060627/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_060627192828)

The scope of the problem in Iraq is lost in some of the details - 75,000 combat troops cannot stem the violence. Ponder the number for a moment 75,000 additional troops to try to stop the violence.

As anyone who has worked with gang violence in the criminal justice system in America will tell you - superior firepower will NEVER retake areas where gang activity has gotten a foothold. Remember the LA riots of 1992 over 200 simultaneous fires burned out of control. What stopped the violence then? Was it police action? Was it the action of the President of the time? No - it was the actions and activities of the local community that stopped the violence then and it will be the activity of the local Iraqi communities that will stop the violence in Bagdad and throughout Iraq.

Of course since our own CIA lost 200,000 AK-47 assault rifles the task of peace and stability will only be that much more difficult. How can we feel safe and secure if 200,000 assault rifles from a US military base in one country is lost in route to another country that is under the complete "control" of the US military.

We need a new plan a "Progressive Security Plan" for America and the world. We desperately need the CIA and the US military to be on the side of "We the people". Senator Feingold talks about Americans global security shortcomings and failures and lays out a plan of action (http://feingold.senate.gov/~feingold/statements/06/05/20060519CSIS.html)
We must educate ourselves and develop critical thinking skills about the real threats we face. And the threats we face are real just like the threats we face from some gang members who populate our Supermax prisons (http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-me-code27jun27,1,7657709.story?coll=la-headlines-frontpage)

Unfortunately in the case of Iraq we have turned a very bad situation into a nightmare and it is time we utilize good riot control procedures and stop the violence in ways that involve the community and will work - just like in LA in 1992. The violence will stop when we de-escalate the cycle of violence we have helped create. Our Progressive Plan for Peace and Security in Iraq is not to avoid or run away, but to use a little "tough love" and build the only type of peace that will help make both Iraq and America more secure. We need security that is based on the belief that people really do matter.

Russ wants all of us to develop a plan for America!
If we believe people really do matter then we need our next President to be Russ.
If we want a more secure America then we need out next President to be Russ.

How can we allow the continued militarization of our American way of life?

2006-06-05T01:59:00.000-07:00

In light of our compulsive need, as a country, to spend more for Defense while becoming less secure as a nation, it is not surprising to read the following from the LA Times.

Army Manual to Skip Geneva Detainee Rule

June 5, 2006
WASHINGTON The Pentagon has decided to omit from new detainee policies a key tenet of the Geneva Convention that explicitly bans "humiliating and degrading treatment," according to knowledgeable military officials, a step that would mark a further, potentially permanent, shift away from strict adherence to international human rights standards.

Full story http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-na-torture5jun05,1,390159.story?coll=la-headlines-frontpage

This type of news of course forms the foundation of my objection to the appointment of a military General as head of the CIA - see my earlier post. It is good to hear that the State Department has strongly objected to this new "Policy" direction, but this is not enough. The real issue, and a sad one I might add, is the fact that so many Americans fail to see this expantion of the military culture or the "militarization of the American way of life" as a bad or undesirable consequence in a post 9/11 environment.

I am again reminded of the statement I heard during my own service to my country as a GI during the Vietnam war - "The senior military officers of this country are the only ones who are holding this country together." This statement did not come from some Military Junta member but from a senior member of the United States military intelligence gathering community.

By today the military has already discovered the financial benefits of invading business and securing excessive a war dividend for themselves and their shareholders. Can we forget the words of warning from President and General Eisenhower in his famous "Military- Industrial Complex Speech" of 1961. It should be required reading by all Americans and especially Progressives (full text http://coursesa.matrix.msu.edu/~hst306/documents/indust.html)

"Together we must learn how to compose differences, not with arms, but with intellect and decent purpose."

Why do we Progressives cower in the corner whenever Defense or Security policy is mentioned? Are not these our very thoughts? How many more years do we watch the militarization of the American way of life before we find the words to inform the American voting public that our policies are based on a solid Defense and Intelligence gathering plan that was developed by one of Americas most well known Generals? We Progressives should have learned that it is not enough to simply say we have a better plan. How much better would our message be accepted if we show a plan that is has a foundation in the proud tradition of one of Americas best known, respected and Republican Generals? The words Eisenhower said and we are saying are the same - it is just the phrasing that is different.

When do we wake up and stop being afraid? Remember "Together we must learn how to compose differences, not with arms, but with intellect and decent purpose." As much as some of us are opposed to war as the main US foreign policy strategy, we must be willing to develop new directions for the militarywe have helded create a world that is unsafe at any level. But why do we only think of the military as the developer of arms? If the Department of Peace concept is too advanced for America today why don't we work to develop a plan and policy for a new Defense Department that is based on "intelligent and decent purpose"? A Defense Department that looks to the United States Institute of Peace for ideas at least as much as the Military Industrial Complex? Why should we continue to allow the CIA to spend tax dollars funding dubious arms dealers so thay can "loose" 200,000 AK-47 assault weapons and spend nothing on ways to develop new strategies for people to life their lives in peace?

We have a lot of work to do but one thing is certain - "Russ and us in 2008" is the best hope we have as Americans to cease the militarization of the American way of life and achieve real security.

Security through Creativity

2006-06-03T12:10:00.000-07:00

Recently Senator Feingold spoke before the Center for Strategic and International Studies and gave a talk entitled "Beyond Iraq: Refocusing our National Security Strategy".

(Full speech http://feingold.senate.gov/~feingold/statements/06/05/20060519CSIS.html)

As usual this speech was a masterful blend of current reality and a creative vision for America. Security, War, Peace and Defense are not topics that many Democrats are comfortable addressing in the same speech. Senator Feingold is both Progressive and able to address Defense and Security in such a pragmatic fashion that we can both feel safe and creative at the same time. Without safety our creativity cannot become real. As a country we have all become less creative because we have become compulsive about things we were never forced to confront.

We Americans need to rediscover what I call our "collective creativity". We need leaders and we need a President who will help us rediscover this creative side of America again. Russ has this quality of leadership.

We have turned a new corner in the history of our country. The same old ways of projecting our national identity - through an over reliance on our military might, will simply not work anymore. The Iraq war has now cost us over $320 billion and counting. We cannot buy our way out of the war on terror. Our budget deficit, that only 6 short years ago we thought was to be paid off by now, has growen to over $8 trillion and growing - fast. We need a new leader with creative ideas to challeng us all to find a new path for America. This speech demonstrates that Russ has the the qualities of leadership to develop with us pragmatic solutions for our security. As we have known, we cannot develop the creative solutions we need if we increasingly leave our security and intelligence gathering activities solely up to the military. We tried that in Vietnam and it didn't work there either.

In his speech the Senator said "To achieve success, it is critical to connect military and political assistance. I’ve called on the Administration to create a strategy that ties together new security assistance with critical reforms in these other areas. I have yet to see one, and I am very concerned. " We should all be very concerned and demand leadership at all levels of our country who will develop the creative strategies we need to be secure. We must also link economic strategies to help in this war. Increasingly American business solutions to countries around the world have do not have sloutions that allow people to learn how to creatively develop solutions for theor own wars on terror. We need to change this shortsighted view of corporate responsibility - the war on terror demands such an enlightened view. We cannot save the world by giving away money like we have seen fit to do in Iraq.

Creative solutions don't take money to develop but they do take a new way of looking at the war on terror. The current direction of America is to say we do not need creativity we just need a bigger defense budget. It this really the America we want?

The health of the American way of life...depends on us all

2006-06-02T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today there was a message from Move-on about the results of their positive agenda poll. Here are the results of what some of us thought were the most important issues facing America today. Almost 97% of the more than 100,000 "voters" in the poll selected one of this items.

Health care for all
Sustainable energy independence
Restored constitutional rights
Guaranteed accurate elections
Global leadership through diplomacy
High quality education for all
Solutions to global warming
A guaranteed living wage
Publicly funded elections
A balanced federal budget

My personal favorite "Global leadership through diplomacy" came in a respectable 5th.

What is most interesting to me is the vast chasm in the direction of America, (I would even go so far as to say the health of America - see item #1), that has developed in such a very short period of time. These 10 items signify to me what are the real core values of America that we have all allowed to slip away on our watch. It is us "baby boomers" who have for the most part been responsible for the ill-health that afflicts our America today. Now our task will be how can we nurse America back to health. How can we once again value people over profits. Peace over War.

Perhaps we need to put the top 10 items from the conservative agenda across for ours and demonstrate with practical and pragmatic policy solutions that all of us Americans really do want the same things - we just say it differently. We need to show that the wide chasm that some have created for political reasons, is part of the real illness that is making our America sick today. We have all become part of the problem and not part of the solution. We need health care but we are not allowed to offer solutions

My feeling is that Russ is the one who has the experience and strength to lead our America WITH US. Make no mistake - it will not be easy. As with any serious illness the cure will take many different creative solutions from all of us. Russ is a perfect "President" to lead the way for America, but the cure depends on the creative solutions of "we the people" each and every day. We must all step up to the challenge today to make a difference tomorrow.

Don't be mislead and think it is the big things that will make the real difference in November 2008 - all effort is welcome and needed now. Perhaps all you want to do is join organizations like Move-On and work with them to create ideas, or you could become active with the Draft Russ effort and write a blog or you could suggest policy ideas directly to Russ at his Senate web site. The difference is not how many big efforts we make in 2008 that will make the real difference in the next President America elects. The real difference is the result of how many small efforts we will committ to each and every day for the next 900 days that will determine if we can create a more healthy America in the years to come. How badly do we want an American way of life that reflects our values and beliefs in a better life for all of us?

Economic growth for everyone - is it possible?

2006-05-24T04:55:00.000-07:00

No - it is required!

So often I hear that we Progressives do not have real ideas of how to grow an economy so real growth is achieved for all. During the Clinton years the ones who are middle class did extremely well, especially during the "Dot Com" years. But still the unlucky ones at the bottom half of the income ladder were left behind or forgotten both in America and globally. And here I do not even include places like the Democratic Republic of the Congo or Rwanda.

For purposes of "political capital" both Parties have claimed success on the economic front if the very largest American companies have big success both at home and abroad. This short sighted view has seemed to be a result of the vast amounts of money that is needed to be elected in America and to stay in power. Money that big business or big interests are more than willing to exchange in vast amounts for the right access to the Oval Office or the Halls of Congress. Remember the Banking and S&L scandal of "ages ago"?

I suggest that a true Progressive recipe for economic success is based on the belief that real success for the ones at the lower half of the economic ladder is the only real measure of economic success as a country that believes in the value of people. If you only believe in the value of capital gains or shareholder value then you love the America we all have created. If you believe we ALL can have a direct economic benefit then you have to vote of a real change this November and in 2008 vote for Feingold.

As a country America need to again believe and act on the belief that when one person slips below the poverty line we as a "Human" nation are failing...because we are. The article below is but one idea that will work as well for a single mother or father struggling to feed their kids in Iowa or Texas or Georgia as it would for the small business owner in Slovakia.

The article originally appeared in the American Chamber of Commerce in Slovakia monthly magazine (http://www.amcham.sk/upload/connection/20-21.pdf)

SME's Slovakia's Best Hope for an Accelerated, More Dynamic and Brighter Economic Future for Everyone

The miracle of the Slovak economic turnaround has been a remarkable regional economic success. Large enterprises are coming in and setting up one large factory after another. The economic outlook is particularly bright for the shareholders and management of the many multinational companies that have discovered Slovakia. If this positive economic news is to create a vibrant, dynamic growth engine for all in Slovakia then much more attention must be given to solutions that will incorporate more successfully the domestic and international small and medium sized business community into this remarkable economic success story.

SARIO, Slovak Investment and Trade Development Agency, has recently announced that over 300 large investments have created approximately 9,000 new jobs. This great investment success has unfortunately also revealed an increasingly obvious reality - there are not enough qualified managers and factory workers who are able or willing to accept many of these newly created jobs. Currently there are just not the required numbers of qualified middle managers and factory workers available to sustain so many, large diverse factories. Increasingly many of these large investors have been forced to look outside Slovakia to source the necessary workforce. In the long term the low salary cost reasons that drove most of the current investment decisions will prove increasingly difficult to realize if more and more of the required workers have to be sourced from outside Slovakia.

Now that an adequate base of large investment successes has so artfully been developed it is now time to move beyond these first, small economic measures and begin to focus resources and financial incentives on building a strong, dynamic, versatile small and medium sized business community. As the Slovak News Agency recently pointed out "Ministries which coordinate the social and economic politics of Slovakia like to show people macroeconomic mega-success of our country. But they seem to forget that the successful economy must go along with raising living standards. The living standard rises at a snail's pace. Well, it is better than nothing, but the fact that one fifth of Slovaks live above the poverty threshold is a catastrophe."

It is no secret that in every single growing, thriving, developed, free market economy economic success is always based on the fortunes and treatment of the small and medium sized business community. By most measures of economic activity such as GDP or new job creation, between 75% to more than 90% of all real growth is directly and indirectly attributed to the contribution of the small and medium sized business community.

In Slovakia there are many inequalities that small business faces as it struggles to compete efficiently. This situation for the small business community is more challenging since many of the laws governing the economy are now just being codified. The range of inequalities touches everything from the privatization process, the granting of service providing licenses, tax laws and the legislative influence process. It now appears to be time for the Slovak business and political communities to explore the possibilities that even greater prosperity and political stability for the citizens of Slovakia resides in the fortunes of the small and medium business community.

A few examples of these inequalities may help to illustrate the depth of the current imbalance in the system. As the first example letÂs look at the tax rate. The large domestic and foreign business community usually disburses income from the business via some sort of a dividend that is exempt from taxation in Slovakia. For the small business owner they are usually forced to pay 19% tax on income they take from the business. Additional when they spend this income on other purchases they are required to pay the 19% VAT. Another inequality is in the money the government provides to large investors in order to assist them take advantage of the many benefits of conducting business here in Slovakia. SARIO is an example of a government-funded entity that is established to assist only large foreign companies locate and set up business in Slovakia.

As with other issues that have arisen in Slovakia over the years, the debate over the business direction for Slovakia has always centered on discovering a Slovak way to get the job done. The domestic and international small business community is primarily interested in developing a level playing field between large and small business. If incentives are offered to the very largest multinational companies to create jobs then it only makes good business sense to offer incentives at the same level to the small and medium sized business community that has demonstrated how much better it is at creating more long lasting jobs and growth than the large companies. If the small and medium business community would be given a real voice in developing solutions of economic policy there is a chance the benefits of an economic turnaround would benefit a far greater portion of the Slovak population. As we have seen over the last few years that Slovakia has relied on large business advisors to develop solutions for the large business community it now also makes wise economic sense to develop a method for the small and medium business community to have a voice in how to improve, expand and grow a more broad based economic recovery in Slovakia.

One possible solution would be to create a strategic economic partnership similar to the Small Business Administration (SBA) in the US. The SBA is the "The voice for small business in the Federal Government". The SBA has a fairly good record at ensuring the special requirement of the small and medium business community is considered in all areas of American business life. The laws governing business including taxes, public procurements and privatizations should not be dominated by only one segment of the business community. Totally new Slovak small and medium sized business models must be developed from the viewpoint of a large and small business partnership if continued widespread job creation and living standards is the desired outcome.

The government and large business needs to view SME's as equal partners with valuable insights into how to economic activity over a wide segment of the Slovakia business community. Large companies must be willing to actively encourage matchmaking activities where SME's can take an active part in subcontracting possibilities for tenders or other business activities. Tax law needs to be changed to take away the small and medium sized business double taxation burden. The government must actively look for ways to provide education, access and infrastructure development incentives on an equal footing as what they provide the large investor. If the small business community is to flourish and expand then a government or NGO entity similar to the American SBA must be established to foster a public-private partnership to effectively assist a much greater number of Slovak and international small business community member also say with conviction "Slovak is a great place to live and succeed in business".

Straw Polls of interest at Daily Kos

2006-05-23T14:41:00.000-07:00

Please take a minute to vote for Sen. Feingold in the DailyKos May/June Straw Poll. Russ has done very well, winning the last straw poll with 48%. His support has increased from just 10% last June.

There is also a 2008 Fantasy Straw Poll, which is pretty much the same except it has Al Gore in it. Russ is in a strong 2nd and could use your help there too.

Russ is standing up for US!
"It's time to stand up - not to cheer, but to fight back." - Russ Feingold

Thanks for the research and information from Iowa for Feingold

Equality in marriage

2006-05-18T12:21:00.000-07:00

Today there was yet another attempt to use our constitution against "We the people". I wrote this short message to Sen. Feingold.
=========================
As you have consistantly done in the past; today you stood up to the "status quo" and let your opinion be know when the rights of other are in danger.

We all need to let people live their lives and begin to address the real problems that face our country. With you help we can try. We stand with you Russ!

Thank you
=========================

Here is part of the statement the Senator released:

"The Constitution of the United States is an historic guarantee of individual freedom. It has served as a beacon of hope, an example to people around the world who yearn to be free and to live their lives without government interference in their most basic human decisions. I took an oath when I joined this body to support and defend the Constitution. I will continue to fight this mean-spirited, divisive, poorly drafted, and misguided amendment when it comes to the Senate floor.”

========================

In reality what does it matter how people live? It seems to me there are some who object to same sex marriage much as the old segregationists or "slavers" tried to use the Bible and questionable science to justify keeping the African Americans enslaved and apart for so many years. In fact I still hear Americans tell me they get physically sick inside when they see a white woman with a black man or two men kissing. And they ask "Am I prejudice?" We in America have grown too comfortable with our prejudice. We still have to ask. We have moved so far away from being human that we think it is ok to "pre-emptively" attack another country and in the process proactively kill other human beings and feel we are well within our rights because in war a certain amount of "Collateral Damage" is to be expected . But if two men or two women want to be afforded the same civil rights as a man and a woman have in marriage we waste untold millions of tax dollars in a misguided attempt to change the constitution.

We Americans, who say we want freedom, seem of late to have elected Presidents, Senators, other Members of Congress and local representatives who are more concerned about tax relief for the most wealthy Americans than they are in solving the real issue we face as a nation today.

My hope is that the voters in November will pause and reflect on what it means to be free from prejudice and vote for real leaders who will lead them in that direction. We may not want a gay marriage ourselves but what does "equal protection" mean anyway? We need to stand with Russ and other leaders who want to give us a world where all of us can be free - "free at last".

My deep concern about the recent nomination of General Michael Hayden to the post of Director of the Central Intelligence Agency

2006-05-08T13:05:00.000-07:00

Dear Senator Feingold,

I am writing to you to voice my deep concern about the recent nomination of General Michael Hayden to the post of Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. My objection is not directed at the many qualifications General Hayden brings to the position about the technical aspects of the intelligence gathering structure of the United States. My deep concern and reservation has its roots in the “cultural” training the General has received over the years in his various positions in the Air Force. With all the problems our country has within the intelligence gathering community can we afford to nominate someone who has been trained and indoctrinated not to question any order from a superior especially from the President himself?

The same year the General started his distinguished career I too started my shorter career with the Air Force. I was selected to become a member of the Air Force Security Service as a Vietnamese linguist. I had a Top Secret clearance until I voluntarily chose to withdraw from handling classified materials due to my opposition to the war in Vietnam. Some months later I was given an Honorable discharge from the Air Force after the intervention of the Federal Court system in the West District of Texas.

In light of the politicalization and failures of intelligence in the run up to the Iraq war I am not sure the culture within the intelligence gathering community has substantially changed form those days so many years ago. Allow me to relay two short stories to let you know why I have come to this conclusion.

After completing a 47-week Vietnamese language instruction course at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California in 1970 I was sent to Goodfellow AFB in San Angelo, Texas. Before our Radio Intercept training class approximately 30 of us were requested to sign a voluntary statement not to divulge classified information for 10 years. At first approximately 25 of us refused to comply. The Base Commander at the time a Col. Grover O. Reat ordered all of us into a secure room and then issued orders for all of us to sign this voluntary statement. One of the more brave individuals asked if we could take this to mean that we were ordered to sign. His words still resound deep inside my mind to this day. He said “Son, you can take it any damn well way you please, but you are not leaving this room until you sign the paper!” The speech worked as all but one of us signed the paper.

The next event occurred a few weeks later when I was at Clark Air Base in the Philippines when another Colonel again attempted to intimidate me into signing the same statement this time under a stated threat of being sent to Vietnam if I did not sign the paper. He used these words during his 45-minute speech to me – “The senior military officers in our country are the only ones who are holding our country together!” Keep in mind the tenor of the times and the many protest in Washington and other cities across the country. We all realize how our country works best when we have strong and objective checks and balances.

With these stories and due to the current disintegration we are witnessing within our intelligence gathering community we need strong objective leadership at the helm of the CIA. With the current state of our country’s inability to rebuild our vital intelligence community, I believe that we do not need a person who has been trained all his adult life never to question authority. We have sadly witnessed that the current “order giver”, our very own President, is a man who has demonstrated over and over again that he will use classified intelligence for his own political and war justifications purposes, no matter what the intelligence objectively tells him. We need to get on the road toward becoming a strong nation again – we need strong leadership at many different levels within our governmental institutions to make our nation secure once again. I encourage you to demonstrate the same strong leadership you recently displayed and ask for a real independent, objective leader for this vital American institution we call the CIA.

Please feel free to use this letter in any way you see fit to ensure we Americans receive a Director of the CIA that will assist in making us really secure.

Thank you very much for your consideration,

Bill Quam

Vote from Abroad at this great site

2006-05-06T01:43:00.000-07:00

Be sure if you have not registered to vote yet for mid-terms that you do so now. Follow the link below and do it seamlessly - at least as seamlessly as possible.

http://www.votefromabroad.org/

"Jewish senator bids for US presidency" JPOST

2006-05-05T13:10:00.000-07:00

The Jerusalem Post recently ran an article on Sen Feingolds run for the Presidency. (link http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?apage=1&cid=1139395645972&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Here is the comment I made about Sen Feingold:

37. Sen Feingold
Bill Quam - Slovakia
04/28/2006 16:38

My feeling about Sen. Feingold is that he is exactly what our country needs. Those of us who live outside America know all too well that we need a strong leader who will challenge the status quo and who will offer real solutions that we all develop together. We have enough of Presidents, Senators (who would fight the same war in Iraq but fight it differently) and business interests who will sell out the security of the world for a few dollars more. Unless we are all willing to move forward in new directions then Iraq is only the beginning of the problems we will bring upon ourselves no matter what country we call home.

===================================

We, Americans, who want to lead our great country though these perious times must not be afraid to stand up and say in thoughtful ways that the way to security is by rediscovering a belief in our ability to find solutions to the most pressing issues people have.

These are no normal time for our country so we do not need the usual empty promises that all the other candidates feed us as the truth. Russ is the onlt candidate who is willing and able to stand up and work with each one of us to develop solutions that not only match but surpass the challenges we face today.

Is it too early……

2006-05-03T08:49:00.000-07:00

to endorse a 2008 Presidential candidate who has not yet even announced if he will run? Iit is still over 900 days until the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, 2008.

The answer of course lies in the viewpoint of the listener. If America had a Parliamentary form of government, such as my current country of residence – Slovakia. 60 days is the normal election campaign cycle. Surveys tell me that over 80% of Slovak voters will decide how they vote by the personalities of the particular political party. It is not uncommon for Party’s to split into several different factions that are then forced to form an endless number of coalitions. Party platforms and not read by the electorate and in many cases not even by those who are running for office. In these cases a 60 day election cycle is more than sufficient time to understand who one is going to vote for. An active, oral tradition is the main method of passing down voting solutions through the family and society. With a population of a little more than 5 million or even 50 million this system can be effective and workable.

Many of us in the United States have come to view elections as a necessary evil. Something we endure and give money to so we can go about our “normal” lives of making a living. I suggest we need to develop a vastly different view of the whole election process if we want a more human America. In the 1960’s and 70’s the more conservative American business and political interests declared open warfare on a more human view of America. They defined “humanism” as an enemy of God, the business community and America. To a large extent they have been very good at defining what it means to be a “good” American. After many of us experienced the hippy and Woodstock days we concluded that perhaps a more comfortable life was not all that bad after all. We learned that all we had to do was keep our mouths shut and work to build a less human side of America, something I call the “Corporate American, Endless War and Sweatshop Model”. This modern day “vision” of American mimicked the modern day business model that follows precisely the Zurich axioms “Always take your profit too soon”.

For far too many Progressives, we have never really come to terms with the place business, let alone the Corporate America business model needs to play in our lives. We declare war on Business as an evil that can never be done right. But we do not offer real solutions that offer the voting public hope for real jobs and a more secure live. In effect we are falling into the same trap the conservatives did when they declared war on “humanism”. We become so intent with pointing out the many problems that we have little time left to develop real solutions. One of the main problems for Progressives is that we have not done our homework and tried to understand how to replace the “Corporate American, Endless War and Sweatshop Model” that now defines America with a better model of our own. We need to develop policy that lays out for people in practical terms how a truly “Progressive Corporate America Model” will allow them to enjoy a life of peace, security and prosperity. We in effect have forced people in middle America to choose between their belief in God and enough food on the table or the anarchy of endless protests (that at times turn violent, as the Seattle WTO) with no practical solutions for a better way of life in the mix. We who call ourselves “Progressive” need to do our homework and begin to work NOW to develop solutions that match our name – PROGRESSIVE.

We must organize – absolutely – but each one of us must also contribute to the process of developing our collective vision of a more human America that believes people really do matter more than profits. This time between elections is not the time to take a wait and see view of who will run but to choose a leader now who shares our belief in the America we want to create and then work with them make sure the vision is a real alternative to the “Corporate America Endless War and Sweatshop Model” that we have been offered for far too long. If we do not chose a leader now and get to know them now and offer our policy ideas now then other leaders will give us more “Swift Boat” disaster candidates who will “fight the same war in Iraq but fight it differently”.

When we want a better America then we will offer the ideas and solutions that will in the end work better.

We in the Democratic Party still give business interests and people that contribute more money more access to our leaders. From my many days in the criminal justice system this way of business looks a lot like prostitution – and from my work in Central and Eastern Europe this way of business looks a lot like – corruption. Either way it is wrong because the system is not built on the premise that people really do matter. Money still matters more than people, even for us in the Democratic Party.

We now have the time to work with Russ to develop solutions that will really make America work for all of us. We can create a vision for America that is based on peace, security and prosperity for all of us in America and the world. But we can only do it if we declare our support for a participatory, people centered America - NOW and begin the difficult task of merging all of our different ideas into solid policy and issue statements. The voters have told us they want practical solutions. If we don’t act now then there are any number of others who will gladly create a different Democratic variation of the “Corporate America Endless War and Sweatshop Model”.

Given these homework assignments 900 days is not nearly enough time but it will give us a start. Perhaps our axiom should be “It is never to early to create solutions.”

At a minimum take these small steps

A) Sign the Draft Russ for 2008 petition – click here

B) Sign the Support for changing American Business and Foreign Policy Petition – click here

C) Become active at suggesting new policy ideas.

When do we see enough death and dying before we realize the answers and solutions lie within each one of us?

2006-05-03T07:59:00.000-07:00

"In a globalized world, we are inevitably drawn into conflicts--either economically or militarily--and the burdens are vast and growing. Unless a better system of conflict prevention is developed, the burden on the United States to respond to instability and conflict will only become progressively greater, both economically and militarily, as could the cost in American lives." - Lee H. Hamilton, President and Director, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

GENOCIDE FEATURE: Preventing Conflict - Words to Deeds

http://news.yahoo.com/s/oneworld/20060502/wl_oneworld/45361320801146611959

New on-line petition to Sen. Feingold

2006-05-02T12:50:00.000-07:00

Today I posted the following on-line petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/people9/petition.html click or paste the link to sign the petition.

We all have a voice - lets find new ways to put it to use for the good of America and the world.

My firm belief is that if we do not tell our leaders very often what we think and how we feel the world can be different, then some others with with less vision and moral fibre will be right there explaining how great the next war will be for the profits next year.......

Support for changing American Business and Foreign Policy Petition

To: Senator Russell Feingold

We the undersigned are asking your assistance with a matter of security, strategic global business and American Foreign Policy implications. We come to you from all walks of life and from different political, social and business orientations. We feel that since you have positions in the United State Senate on the Foreign Relations, Africa Subcommittee; the Select Committee on Intelligence; the Judiciary; and the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe you are well positioned to assist us correct some very heartbreaking wrongs being visited upon people who do not have a voice in American policy development, but who are being affected very directly by faulty American business and Foreign Policy decision making.

There are many examples of American corporate business practices that speak of the very best that America has to offer the world. We are also aware, unfortunately, of the fact that some of the very largest, most successful American corporations continue to exploit workers around the world in the name of increasing “shareholder value” or quarterly profits. Two seemingly different examples demonstrate the depth and severity of the problem.

The first example is the abuse and at times torture of workers by multinational American companies in Saipan. Saipan has been the site of sweatshop business practices that have even been supported by former and current members of Congress. Representative Delay was caught on tape saying of the Saipan sweatshop business model "You are a shining light for what is happening in the Republican Party, and you represent everything that is good about what we're trying to do in America in leading the world in the free-market system." While it is true that throughout the history of America, different forms of “sweatshop business practices” have been encouraged and supported by governmental and legislative interests tied to business. These sweatshop business practices must not be a part of the America of today or the future. (For more information I refer you to the following information - http://www.alternet.org/story/35458 )

The second example is the ongoing human tragedy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Expert Panel of the UN and several well respected NGO’s have documented that several multinational American corporations have for a number of years been allowed to either directly or indirectly fund different rebel groups in order to engage in business. Information about this continuing tragedy can be found at the Monuc site (www.monuc.org); the International Crisis Group site (http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=2829&l=1) and the International Rescue Committee site (http://www.theirc.org/where/the_irc_in_democratic_republic_of_congo.html) to name but a few.

We the undersigned believe that because of these and other business and political abuses, the basic foundation of security and human rights in America is being compromised and undermined. We can be silent no longer. Edmund Burke said it best with these words -All that is necessary for evil to succeed is that good People do nothing. We want an America that is safe AND has a vision of the world that is based on the notion that people really do matter. Exploiting people in order to increase shareholder value or next quarter’s profits is not a quality that any company or any true American can be proud of supporting. The effects of these business practices are to bring terror to many innocent people around the world in the name of good American business and foreign policy practices.

We urge you to help us Americans and other citizens of the global village, develop solutions to address this terror and torture business and foreign policy model – it is not part of our vision of America today nor of the future. We do have solutions for the future that create jobs, are business friendly and give us security, assist us give these solutions a voice.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

http://www.petitiononline.com/people9/petition.html click on the link to sign the on-line petition.

Why Feingold in 2008?

2006-04-26T03:37:00.000-07:00

I am new to this world of Blogging, so I wanted to introduce myself by way of offering an insight into what you will read about in this new Americans Abroad for Russ Blog.

We Americans who lived abroad need a place to add some insight into the Foreign Policy and international business debate from a progressive point of view. We want to help formulate ideas and spark discussion about how a Feingold Presidency will be what is needed for a more secure America and world.

We who call ourselves - Progressives - need to get much better at describing how a world full of hope is a more secure world. The Progressive vision for America and the world does offer the best chance for a more hopeful and secure world but we have done a very poor job at describing, in practical terms, how we will do that. (After all, how secure were the 800,000 in Rwanda who died under a Clinton presidency?) The Republicans are excellent at telling everyone what the Democratic defense policy would look like, mostly because there has been no leadership within the Democratic Party – until Russ. That is unless you call “I would fight the same war in Iraq, but fight it differently!” a practical defense strategy for anything but defeat.

To many people in middle America, that vote Bush (I now describe Bush policy as the - The great destroyer of the American culture of hope) , the “New Deal” was the last good idea any Democrats have had. This is why we loose elections. We do not offer the American population hope for a more secure and better today or tomorrow.

Al Lowenstein was my mentor of things political so very many years ago now. Al has a quality that is mostly lacking in politiicans today. Al believed in people and the value of people. Al brought hope with him wherever he went.

We need to move forward, once again to this culture of “hope”. Hope is not a sign of weakness like Bush would lead America to believe. Hope is American. America has always been about giving people hope. We have all been robbed of hope for today and a better tomorrow because of what I call “Bush’s America – the Culture of Endless and Pre-emptive War”. This is the doctrine that defines and embodies the Bush culture for the America of the future. Bush will now, not just “smoke ‘em out” but he has said we, AMERICANS will nuke ‘em out – “all options are on the table”. This approach is wrong for any number of reasons but it is also wrong because it is not the culture of America. The security of America and the world rests in our ability to help Russ bring to the table, practical ways to deal with the many problems we face. We all need to be involved in the process of developing solutions, not just giving money to ease our conscience. As we discovered during the last election we can raise more money than the Republicans, but if our message does not ring true we still loose. Issue and policy development matter! But sound, practical issue and policy development just takes time – and we still have time.

While we have the time, this Blog will be about developing issues with an international Business and Foreign Policy bent. We want to help Russ develop issues that ring true in the ears and hearts of all Americans – especially the Bush voters. We need “participatory, people-centered” issues to guide us on to victory in 2008. Perhaps we should adopt one of my old classic books “Hope for the Flowers” (link http://www.hopefortheflowers.com/ ) as a reading primer. We need to let everyone know that Russ is the candidate of solutions for “ordinary people”. Hope without solutions is full of dead promises – and is the false spring of “Bush’s America”.

Our America with Russ is one that is all about Hope and is a plan for America that is firmly grounded in security and peace and growth for all of us. The trick for us Progressives is how to say this in ways that speak to voters who feel deeply that we are “just a bunch of wide-eyed, liberal hacks – that have never come up with a good idea since the New Deal!”

The solutions are inside each and every American, we Progressives need to help give these unspoken solutions voices. Russ is the one who can lead us; but it is up to us to provide the solutions…..that is unless you will be happy with a Bush clone for another 8 or more years.

Join The Feingold Revolution!

2006-04-24T04:02:00.000-07:00

The Feingold 50 Blogs Strategy

A grassroots revolution is taking place, and you're invited to take part.

The conventional wisdom is that it's too early to be working towards the 2008 Democratic Presidential Primary. We should focus solely on the 2006 elections, and take the presidential race as it comes.

There is, unquestionably, some wisdom in this approach. But hasn't history taught us some harsh lessons about waiting to long to take action?

Unless progressive activists take strong, early action, Hillary Clinton will be our next presidential nominee. She's got the money. She's got the name recognition. She's got a fair amount of affection from the Democratic rank and file.

Hillary in the White House isn't the worst thing that could happen, but it's certainly not the best.

So, what can we do to stop this?

We can organize. We can set goals. We can meet them. We can help him start his campaign in November from a stronger position. Stronger name recognition. Stronger understanding of his positions. Stronger knowlege of his history of service to this country. And as the campaign ramps up, he'll already have the advantage of connections in the fifty states. Volunteers who have the advantage of knowing their peers across the country. Volunteers who are already battle-tested and ready to do what it takes to put him in the White House.

We already have blogs in 14 states -- we're almost a third of a way there. We need a blog in each state. We also need more contributors pumping their ideas and articles into the blogs. Change history: join the revolution today.

Here are some ways to start:

Join the Feingold08 Mailing List.
Get active at the Russ Cafe.
Stop in at the Progressive Patriots Fund, Russ's Leadership PAC.
Start a state blog. If you want, you can use the templates here.
Contribute content and/or code at RussForge. Learn how here.

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