Inside the Belly of the Beltway Beast

Hello readers, please take a few minutes to read the previous blog before digesting this one. While I am definitely shifting gears, what I am writing here clearly connects to what was already expressed. I think it has something to say to progressive organizers. In my life, I have come to realize that the most paramount factor is other people. Think about it, unless you live somewhere deep in the Himalayans, and somehow have a fully sustainable yurt with near-daily air drop services -- you probably interact with a lot of different folks. You learn from them, you share good and bad times with them. You struggle and debate with them. If it's someone you click with socially, you thoroughly enjoy hanging out and sharing life together. At least, that's it in a nutshell for me.  As I previously mentioned, listening is a required part of communication. It is also socially required to show respect for your fellow human beings who you encounter. I like the old idiom, "You ar...

This presidential election year the citizens of the U.S. are faced with two of the most unpopular nominees of the major parties in our nation's history, Hillary "neoliberal warmonger" Clinton and Donald "spoiled bigot" Trump. It is quite a toxic choice for most Americans, many of whom know little or nothing about the Green and Libertarian options, which also exist just outside of the duopoly. And many who do know a bit about Jill Stein and Gary Johnson will still vote out of fear; they will cast their precious ballot for what they view as the lesser evil in order to defeat the greater evil. The truth with the American corporate duopoly running the U.S. government is that there is precious little separating the two parties. True there are some differences on social issues, such as gay marriage and abortion rights -- both reveal that the days are numbered for the G.O.P. However the Democrats, from the 1990s until recent years, have shifted sharply to the right w...

April 20, 2008 By Dean Powers http://www.opednews.com From Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, Democrats voiced surprise and then anger over comments that Senator Hillary Clinton made at a private fund raiser that were caught on tape. Surprise because the media has largely blacked out coverage of the comments; anger because of their nature. The Huffington Post published those comments and the clip of the audio sound bite on Friday. At the event last February, Clinton told those in the audience, "We have been less successful in caucuses because it brings out the activist base of the Democratic Party. MoveOn didn't even want us to go into Afghanistan. I mean, that's what we're dealing with. And you know they turn out in great numbers. And they are very driven by their view of our positions, and it's primarily national security and foreign policy that drives them. I don't agree with them. They know I don't agree with them. So they flood into these caucuses and dominat...

By Allison Kilkenny February 24, 2008 The Democrats like to cast blame for why they continually lose elections. Karl Rove's dream of a permanent Republican majority, while eventually thwarted because of Bush fatigue, was only possible because the Democrats failed to form a compelling ideology for a globalized economy. Definition through negation works in some preliminary stump speeches, but eventually voters want answers. It's not enough to be Not-Republicans. How, exactly, are Democrats different than Republicans? Spouting tired rhetoric about the New Deal and social welfare worked for a country teetering on the brink of Socialism during FDR's reign, but what now? How are the Fat Cats in the Democratic party different than the Fat Cats in the Republican wing? And Universal health care hardly seems like revolutionary thinking when the very insurance companies who have been exploiting sick Americans are invited to the negotiation table. Well, to be fair, they paid for their ...

Although clearly not my top choice, there's something to be said by what is happening. I am pleased to see reactionary Hillary Clinton getting beat! Despite all of this, I continue to believe that true hope for change lies with the people, not through electing so-called leaders. By GLENN ADAMS Associated Press Writer AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) - Barack Obama defeated Hillary Rodham Clinton in Maine presidential caucuses Sunday, grabbing a majority of delegates as the state's Democrats overlooked the snowy weather and turned out in heavy numbers for municipal gatherings. Democrats in 420 Maine towns and cities were deciding how the state's 24 delegates will be allotted at the party's national convention in August. Despite the weather, turnout was "incredible," party executive director Arden Manning said. With 79 percent of the participating precincts reporting, Obama led in state delegates elected over Clinton, 1,817 to 1,263, with 17 uncommitted.. The voting came a d...

On the eve of the Iowa Presidential Caucus, 10 Washington, D.C., Northern Virginia and Baltimore area peace activists visited Sen. Hillary Clinton's national headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. The nonviolent protest, featuring a mock coffin and the reading of Iraqi and American names killed in the more than five years of war and military occupation in Iraq. While our protest was going on, we learned that several of our brothers and sisters with Season of Discontent: A Presidential Occupation Project, were arrested in the Des Moines, Iowa offices of Republican candidate Mitt Romney and Democratic candidate Barack Obama. This new round of the Occupation Project has been largely organized by Voices for Creative Nonviolence (VCNV). There were no arrests during our action. We hand-delivered two letters to Hillary, and asked politely to speak with a staff member. We were denied that meeting and the inner doors of the office building were barred to us. While we began reading names of A...

Street Address of headquarters: 4420 Fairfax Drive N., Arlington, VA WASHINGTON -- On January 2, 2008, one day before the Iowa caucus, citizens will go to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign headquarters, at 4 p.m., to follow up on a letter requesting the Senator's pledge to affirm the points put forth by Voices for Creative Nonviolence. A small delegation of peace activists, representing the Washington Peace Center, Code Pink, Grassroots America and Northern Virginians for Peace and Justice will attempt to persuade Ms. Clinton to take measurable steps to end the Iraq War, which is entering its fifth year. Previously, Ms. Clinton has made remarks indicating her position to keep troops in Iraq through 2013, in spite of the fact that more than 70% of Americans favor a more immediate withdrawal of troops. Voices for Creative Nonviolence www.vcnv.org, the initiator of the SODaPOP "Seasons of Discontent; a Presidential Occupation Project" has made visits to the of...

Sen. Hillary Clinton 4420 North Fairfax Drive Arlington, VA 22203 Re: Seasons of Discontent; a Presidential Occupation Project Dear Senator Clinton: I am writing to announce a new initiative of Voices for Creative Nonviolence and several peace and justice groups in the earliest races of the presidential campaign, SODaPOP, or "Seasons of Discontent; a Presidential Occupation Project." We at the Washington Peace Center are joining VCNV in this campaign, and are inviting activists to come to Iowa and New Hampshire from around the nation "to bring nonviolent civil resistance and civil disobedience to the campaign offices and headquarters of Presidential candidates, both Republican and Democrat, who do not publicly declare that they will take the necessary concrete steps to end the Iraq war, to rebuild Iraq, to forswear military attacks on other countries such as Iran, and to fully fund the Common Good in the U.S." Please sign the enclosed promise and return it to our of...

By Mike Ferner DES MOINES -- A new campaign to place the Iraq war in the center of Iowa's presidential caucus races kicked off in Des Moines yesterday. But as often happens, it wasn't so much the protest that made the story as the reaction to it. "Seasons Of Discontent--A Presidential Occupation Campaign," or SODAPOP as its organizers dubbed it, targeted the campaigns of Rudolph Giuliani and Hillary Clinton, taking over their offices in the Iowa state capital and disrupting both campaigns for several hours before a total of 19 people were arrested. The "law and order" Giuliani campaign waited only about two hours to call on the suburban Clive, Iowa police to arrest 10 activists. The Clinton campaign appeared more reluctant to remove the protesters, waiting almost eight hours before requesting the Des Moines Police Department remove nine activists. The last two hours of the Clinton occupation generated reactions from young staffers that typically send a candi...

I guess many of us are anxiously awaiting to see the results of the Senate and the House's joint conference on the supplelemental bill for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Bush asked for approximately $99 billion, the Democrats newly installed in power, turned around and are willing to give him more than $120 billion. At this point approximately $500 billion has been spent on these disastrous and immoral invasions (November 2001 and March 2003 respectively). The Senate's version has a March 2008 timetable for withdrawal, while the House has an August 2008 date (two months before the Presidential election which the Dems are now expected to win). Anything smell political here? Sure! Not only are these timetables for withdrawal timed to gain the Dems as much political power as possible, there's nothing about them that can be enforceable when dealing with a reckless and completely morally empty commander-in-chief. Then throw in this weekend's interview of Sen. Carl Levin b...

The former first lady, Hillary R. Clinton, has announced her formal candidacy for the Democratic nomination of president. If the party selects her as president it would be a grave mistake. It would be a solidifying of the Democrats' timidity, an embracing of a hollow middle ground where it becomes more Republican-lite than a true opposition party. Of course there are the dumbasses that can't resist the cool factor of voting for a former first lady, or the need to vote for any female Democrat running for president. But I think in the end, most Democrats will look into their souls and realize that not only do they no longer want to be the party of timidity, they'll realize that Hillary doesn't really stand for much at all. I mean what the heck are her core values? It sure beats me! Hillary stepped away from universal health care when it failed during her hubby's tenure in office. Now, in her recent announcement, she says she wants to secure health care for "more...