25 House Progressives Can End the Wars

1.

On Monday, we said just 40 House Progressives could end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan/Pakistan (Af/Pak) by opposing the Pentagon's demand for another $95 billion. That's because all 178 Republicans will vote no over $5 billion for the IMF.

Nearly 10,000 of you emailed your Representatives, and 15 House Progressives responded to you by opposing the $95 billion. So now we need just 25 more.



Tell Congress: Healthcare Not Warfare
http://www.democrats.com/healthcare-not-warfare

For a glimpse of the impact of U.S. bombs on the children of Afghanistan, watch this 1 minute video from our friends at BraveNewFilms:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzyfAHvvXDU

If you have time to call Congress, pick a few from this list:
http://action.firedoglake.com/page/s/Supplemental
Report the response you get using the webform.

If you use Twitter, you can "retweet" four quick messages to key Members of Congress:
http://www.democrats.com/tweet-against-war-funds

You can follow my tweets here:
http://twitter.com/bobfertik
And you can follow our action-only tweets here:
http://twitter.com/democratscom

Thanks for all you do!

Bob Fertik


2. Help With Local Event for David Swanson's Book Tour

David Swanson's exciting new book is " Daybreak: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union " which will be published on September 1. With help from many of you, David has scheduled events all over the country:
http://davidswanson.org/book

There is contact info for a local organizer for each event, and all could use some help. Can you email friends, distribute flyers, place notices in calendars, book interviews to promote an event, or otherwise spread the word? If so, please contact our local organizer. Thanks!
http://davidswanson.org/book

Forward this message to everyone you know!

To subscribe, create a free Democrats.com account here:
http://www.democrats.com/user/register

U.S. War Funding Bill Loaded w/ Pork

U.S. war funding bill brims with unrelated extras
Mon Jun 8, 2009 5:47pm EDT


By Jeremy Pelofsky

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A $100 billion bill to fund U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is rapidly accumulating extra items such as money for military aircraft the Pentagon doesn't want and possibly a scheme to jump-start sagging auto sales.

The cars and planes are not directly linked to the U.S. war effort. But they are typical of Congress' penchant for loading bills with unrelated spending in hopes the funds will sail through on the strength of the main legislation.

President Barack Obama originally sought $83.4 billion for the two wars and more foreign aid for countries like Pakistan.

But then he too sought more -- $4 billion extra to combat H1N1 swine flu and $5 billion to back credit lines to the International Monetary Fund, which is trying to help developing countries weather the global economic downturn.

The unrelated provisions have slowed the bill down, especially for the IMF because Republicans have argued the extra items should be vetted through the normal congressional process rather than jammed into an emergency spending bill.

Fights have also erupted about add-ons for the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and an attempt to bar the release of photos of detainee abuse. While Republicans do not have the votes to block the bill, they have said they will oppose it and that forces Democrats to ensure most of their members back it.

"This supplemental was supposed to be about providing funding for our troops," one House Republican aide said. Instead, it has become a mish-mashed, taxpayer funded 'Christmas tree' bill that will propagate bad policies and unnecessary spending."

Some 51 anti-war House Democrats had opposed the bill but now are under pressure to switch to give Obama a victory. But a House Democratic leadership aide said Republicans will have to answer to constituents for opposing a war funding bill.

CASH FOR CLUNKERS

The House and Senate are working out differences between the two versions of the war funding bill they each approved last month and hope to pass a final, single version this week.

Congress was on the verge of giving Pakistan roughly $1 billion in the bill, but Obama last week sought another $200 million for Islamabad as it fights Taliban militants crossing its border from Afghanistan.

And lawmakers are also considering adding money for a plan to spur domestic car sales by offering up to $4,500 in vouchers for buyers to trade in their less fuel-efficient vehicles for ones that get better mileage, known as "cash for clunkers".

The White House declined to directly address adding in extra provisions, but said officials continue to work with lawmakers "about the core priorities in the legislation and hope that it can get to the president soon."

When the House and Senate originally approved their separate versions of the war bill, the White House praised lawmakers for not inserting their own pet projects in the legislation -- though some pet priorities were included.

Democratic Representative John Murtha, who heads the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, managed to get $3.1 billion for eight C-17 and 11 C-130 military transport planes included. However, that has been pared back by four C-130s.

The Pentagon did not request the aircraft but lawmakers want them to preserve jobs in their home states and Murtha disputes the military's contention that they are not needed.

A senior Democratic House aide said the requests for flu and Pakistan money were appropriate to include in the bill because they were emergency needs Obama cited. The aide also noted that Republicans in the past backed items like the IMF funds.

"This is a dangerous game Republicans are playing by jeopardizing the well-being of our soldiers to score political points," the aide said. "The supplemental will be passed, but they will have to answer for their actions if they oppose it."


http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE5575ZG20090608

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Israel Behind 9/11 Attacks?

Click on title above to see the preponderance of circumstantial evidence; http://theinfounderground.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5367

Things You Wouldnt Know if We Didnt Blog Incessantly

Click on title above to go to a great site which I have marked in my favs, you should too!

Fire Casey -- We Need a New Top Dog in the Army!

Recent headlines read -- "Army Chief Says US Ready to be in Iraq 10
Years." Did General George Casey, the Army Chief of Staff, somehow
miss the message of the Presidential election? Marcy Winograd, 36th
congressional district candidate, reminds General Casey that the
American people voted for a President who promised to get us out of
Iraq, not to prolong the agony of occupation. Winograd says -- "Fire
Casey!"

President Barack Obama campaigned on a plan to bring U.S. combat
forces home from Iraq in 2010 -- that's one year, not ten years,
away. In addition, the United States and Iraq have agreed that all
American forces would leave by 2012. We must demand those promises be
kept.

Fire General Casey Action Page:
http://winograd4congress.com/petitions/pnum988.php

Marcy Winograd, who is leading the charge on this action, is a
courageous progressive advocate, who pulled a very strong 38%
challenging Jane Harman for the Democratic congressional nomination
in CA-36, and is doing so again. With recent revelations that Harman
helped Bush get elected in 2004 by personally pressuring the NY Times
not to publish the NSA wiretap story before the election, and
Harman's complicity of knowledge and failure to act to stop the Bush
torture program, make this a MUST congressional replacement.

The return page from the action page submission link above will give
you an opportunity to make a contribution to Marcy Winograd's
campaign. Or you can use this link below to do so directly, which
provides for both ActBlue and donation by mail options.

Marcy Winograd For Congress Contributions:
http://winograd4congress.com/petitions/contributions.php

General Casey claims his comments were not meant to conflict with the
President. Really? Was Casey testing the waters, taking the pulse,
waiting to see what our reaction would be to a continuous occupation?
Let's show the General and the President that we are sick and tired
of the goal post forever moving -- and we want to bring our troops
home now! Fire Casey!

Truman fired general Douglas MacArthur during the Korean War, because
MacArthur made statements that were contrary to the official position
of Washington. Is Casey speaking for Obama or not?? Is Casey a
greater and more indispensable general than MacArthur was? Either
President Obama needs to set Casey straight, or we need to set Obama
straight. So the action page below will send your message to
President Obama calling on him to fire General Casey, and it will go
to your members of Congress as well, and also your nearest daily
newspaper if that option is selected.

Fire General Casey Action Page:
http://winograd4congress.com/petitions/pnum988.php

There are some very deceptive things going on already with U.S. Iraq
policy, like REDRAWING the boundaries of cities so that existing U.S.
Bases are magically no longer within the city limits, as if that
makes them compliant with our agreement to remove them. These forked
tongue maneuvers must STOP. And it is our job as citizens to demand
that they do.

And yes, you can also respond to this action through the new Twitter
gateway. Just send the following Twitter reply, and add any personal
comment you like.

@cxs #p988

And if you want a step by step explanation of how to set up the
Twitter thing here is the link for that.

Twitter Activism Step-By-Step: http://tcxs.net/step_by_step.php

Paid for by Winograd for Congress 2010

Please take action NOW, so we can win all victories that are supposed
to be ours, and forward this alert as widely as possible.

If you would like to get alerts like these, you can do so at
http://www.peaceteam.net/in.htm

Click on title above to go there

BloggersNote: Whats the big deal about getting out of Iraq? What does it matter if we have troops there, Afganistan, Pakistan, N. Korea, or anywhere else? War is war and we must not content ourselves with removing the troops from Iraq, we must END the (fake) war on terror and bring our troops home from everywhere.

The only war we support is the war to end the war on terror and to establish peace and prospairity for all Americans.

Pictures of War: A Reminder; War IS Terror

Particularly for the innocents




















END the Terror END the War on Terror END all Wars
Except the War on Poverty
and Injustice

The War Prayer

THE WAR PRAYER: Perhaps author Mark Twains most important work and greatest legacy to America, nay, the world.

THE WAR PRAYER


Below is a link where you can read the complete history of its making, its suppression until his death at the authors own request, the movie and historical significance of the poem:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_Prayer_(story)

Click on title above to go to THE WAR PRAYER website:

http://thewarprayer.com/