Open Letter to Neo-liberal Election Tyrants by Cindy Sheehan

Dear Neo-liberal Election Tyrants,


This is in response to your recent:

 

An Open Letter to the Green Party About 2020 Election Strategy (L.A. Progressive; January 25, 2020)

 

There is so much to "unpack" so to speak in this excrement-soaked, yet condescending article written by apparent neo-liberal Democrats to "help" form the 2020 electoral strategy of the US Green Party. By the way, did anyone from this autonomous party which is recognized in most, if not all, US states ask for your idiotic opinion in the first place? Or, maybe you all just decided to come out of your Vote Blue No Matter Who Cotillion for a bit to hobnob with the electoral rabble?

 

In full disclosure, I am not a Green (member of the socialist Peace and Freedom Party), so my response to you Tyrants who wrote/signed this letter comes from the perspective of a person who is profoundly interested in true/grassroots democracy, not the version that is being pushed by you all.

 

Your demand that the Greens stand down in "swing states" is so inherently anti-democratic, that in a true democracy, it would be considered treasonous. Of course, in our current failed state, you all seem to consider it Patriotic to stick your Blue noses in where they were not welcome.

 

Your contention that there is a difference between Trump and Clinton is somewhat true. Many believe that a Clinton presidency would have meant MORE war and MORE corruption, and MORE environmental degradation, not less. Of course, there is much verifiable evidence to back up these claims. Clinton has supported every U.S. imperialist war that ever came her way and as her tenure as Secretary of State, she engineered the coup of a legitimately elected government in Honduras and the complete destruction and debilitation of Libya (among many such crimes). The Clinton Foundation has taken more money from oppressive regimes and sown more destruction than could have been dreamed of by any organized crime boss. Of course, Clinton, Inc. are the very epitome of "organized crime," as they went flying by in Jeffrey Epstein's "Lolita Express."

 

For you all to even hint that Clinton would have been a better choice is ludicrous. In my opinion, people who voted for Jill Stein (the 2016 Green POTUS nominee) in "Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan" and not for Trump or Clinton did not "cost" Ms. War Criminal the election, at all. After eight years of a massive transfer of wealth from the bottom to the top and other neo-liberal policies of the Obama regime that saw the war machine grow dramatically and US imperialism blossom like a metastatic cancer, Democrats LOST those states. Honestly, Stein got a little over 1% of the vote nationally in 2016 and if the Democrats couldn't nominate someone that could overcome that small percentage and beat the ridiculous game show host that entered the race on a lark, no wonder they and you pathetic sycophants are searching everywhere for an answer that doesn't point a laser focus right back on them.

 

Also, it appears that you authors/signers of the above referenced letter support the monster Hillary Clinton! I cannot really say enough about her evilness and this alone makes me question the credibility and the motives of you neo-liberals responsible for this dreck.

 

You rely on those tired and already debunked canards of blaming the Greens for 2000 and 2016 and not the system of rigged voting machines, winner-take-all, massive amounts of campaign money, or any of the other Electoral Industrial Complex bullshit that have been designed from the beginning to keep the people's voices out and put either a Trump or Clinton up on top. 

 

Even the upcoming 2020 looming freak-show is pitting worker against worker in ways that further divide us instead of uniting us behind a platform of social activism that could actually have a positive impact like the courageous protests in France or Iraq, for example.

 

You Election Tyrants from this Green "strategy" claptrap seem to believe that the Democrat half of the War Party owns my, or anyone's vote. When, as a matter of FACT, voting for any Democrat or Republican is voting for more murder and more oppression, but you appear to feel that a vote for someone other than the pitiful Democrat nominee is somehow disordered. 

 

Nothing is going to change at all, for the better, if anyone keeps hanging on to the failed strategies of the past, and your outlined strategy not only reeks of rotten hubris, but has proven time, and time, and time, again to be a bad one that hurts people. Can you not see this from your positions of privilege or ivory towers? Do you only care about a political party that shits all over peace, the planet, and all the people? 

 

In trying to silence opposition voices and steering votes to the champions of imperialism and capitalism, you have become the problem.

 

Signed

Cindy Sheehan

 

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SPEAKING TRUTH TO EMPIRE W/DAN YASEEN (JANUARY 2020 EDITION

 JANUARY 2020

https://soundcloud.com/speaking-truth-to-empire/200115-speaking-truth-to-empire-medea-benjamin

 
On “Speaking Truth to Empire” on KFCF 88.1 independently owned and locally operated since 1975 in Fresno, Dan Yaseen interviews Medea Benjamin, co-founder of CODEPINK and Global Exchange. Topics of discussion include worsening U.S. – Iranian crisis and the fallout from Trump’s ill-advised murder of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani. Medea is a human rights advocate, an author and a peace & justice activist. She has worked for social justice and human rights in Asia, the Americas, and Africa for over 30 years.

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Soapbox Special Edition: From Iran with Journalist Marzieh Hashemi (Soapbox Podcast 1/9/2020)

January 9, 2020

Breaking from Iran with journalist Marzieh Hashemi

For this Special Edition of The Soapbox, Cindy connects

with PressTv journalist Marzieh Hashemi.

 Marzieh is US-born now living in Iran and she is a journalist with PressTv. Last year, Marzieh was kidnapped by the FBI while visiting her family in the US. She was illegally detained without charges but, with her human and religious rights routinely violated. Eight days after her abduction, she was released.

Cindy and Marzieh chat about the current situation in Iran--this is a very important discussion for those who are seeking real news.

FURTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST

Freedom Rider: Iran and the Need for Black Activism

Margaret Kimberley, BAR senior columnist

08 Jan 2020

Freedom Rider: Iran and the Need for Black Activism

Black Americans, as perpetual targets of US lies and attacks, should be the first to reject Washington’s rationales for war with Iran.

“The days of outspoken progressives in the Congressional Black Caucus are long gone.”

Even the most disparaging Donald Trump critic, such as this columnist, can still be shocked by the president’s rash behavior and inexplicable decision making. Such was the case when Trump ordered the assassination of Iranian Quds general Qassem Soleimani and Abd Mahdi al-Muhandis, commander of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces. 

The drone attack in Baghdad killed the two men and eight others. The United States was well aware that Soleimani was on a diplomatic mission. His goal was to start an Iraqi brokered peace process between Iran and Saudi Arabia. But he was set up by the U.S. and Israel like the victim of a mafia hit job. Of course, U.S. foreign policy is always very gangsterish.

The mood in the nation has been grim ever since this story broke. Fears of World War III and terror attacks came to mind for most people. Anti-war groups had struggled to gather large numbers of people but within two days more than 80 actions took place in 38 states. That achievement should be tempered by memories of 2003, when hundreds of thousands protested the invasion of Iraq, but quieted their stance in order to get a pro-war Democrat elected in 2004. In 2008 they lost all common sense when a smooth talker was successfully marketed as a peace candidate.

“Soleimani was set up like the victim of a mafia hit job.”

The corporate media parrot every word coming from the Trump White House and State Department. People who never heard of Soleimani are now convinced that he killed American soldiers. Of course the claim is a lie as is every statement emanating from what Iranians refer to as the Great Satan.

And what of black America in this moment? We have been reduced to producing social media memes begging Iran not to harm us. We harken back to the seizure of the United States embassy in Teheran and the decision to free the black hostages in 1979. Ayatollah Khomenei correctly stated , “...blacks for a long time have lived under oppression and pressure in America.”

For most of American history black people could be counted on to oppose United States war making abroad. If no one else spoke up in defense of countries declared enemies, we would. Posturing about strategic interests, the Cold War or the War on Terror brought sneers and disbelief even as the rest of the country swallowed lies and supported aggression.

“If no one else spoke up in defense of countries declared enemies, we would.”

But that was before a black secretary of state, Colin Powell, told very big lies and made the case for the invasion of Iraq. The black face in the high place had credibility no white man would have. Otherwise intelligent people suddenly made excuses for conduct they would never have accepted in the past.

Even worse, a black man would be president. When Barack Obama destroyed Libya and killed its leader, the people who once spoke up in protest were suddenly silent.
Donald Trump has no such support. He is seen as an existential threat to black people and is dismissed and despised. But the damage has been done and black politics has been effectively neutered. The days of outspoken progressives in the Congressional Black Caucus are long gone and we are left with useless drivel about Trump asking permission to go to war. 

If he did ask he would in all likelihood get an answer in the affirmative. CBC members and other traitorous Democrats fall back on claims that they want to assert constitutional authority. But they also gave Trump an additional $730 billion for the military and refused to end the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) which was passed in the wake of the September 11 attacks. It is still the pretext for invasions and occupations and Democrats didn’t fight Republicans to end it. Of course they won’t fight what they support themselves. 
“
CBC members and other traitorous Democrats gave Trump an additional $730 billion for the military.”

It is heartening that thousands of people turned out on short notice to demand that the U.S. cease its aggressions against Iran and finally leave Iraq. But the absence of fundamental opposition to American aggression leaves that movement prone to repeating the mistakes of the past.
The enemies of peace are many and powerful. The corporate media work hand in hand with the duopoly to convince Americans that war is peace and freedom is slavery. Black misleaders and well paid pundits are supported at every turn while truth tellers struggle to be heard. CBC members are rightly afraid of facing well funded opponents if they end up in Zionist lobby crosshairs. 

The people must be independent of all these forces. The common sense forged by the common experience of oppression must be resurrected. If no one else reacts with revulsion and anger at the next Trump act of aggression, we must. We can’t wait for the CBC or others designated as leaders. When Ayatollah Khomeini freed the black hostages we all applauded and with good reason. We knew he was telling the truth about our history. If we are going to remember anything about Iran let it be that moment.

Margaret Kimberley’s Freedom Rider column appears weekly in BAR, and is widely reprinted elsewhere. She maintains a frequently updated blog as well at patreon.com/margaretkimberley and she regularly posts on Twitter @freedomrideblog. Ms. Kimberley lives in New York City, and can be reached via e-Mail at Margaret.Kimberley(at)BlackAgendaReport.com.  
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U.S. Imperial Wars

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CINDY SHEEHAN ON PRESSTV
Youtube has blocked PressTv, so this content is unfortunately no longer available

  

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The Soapbox looks Back and Forward with Caleb Maupin (Soapbox Podcast January 5, 2020)

January 7, 2020

Guest: Caleb Maupin

Topic: Imperialism in 2019 and Prospects for 2020

This week Cindy chats with RT journalist Caleb Maupin about US foreign policy, especially in the Middle East and Caleb analyzes the impeachment debacle.

Unfortunately, a few hours after the interview was finished, the US assassinated Iranian General Soleimani while he was on a diplomatic mission in Iraq.

THE SOAPBOX STATEMENT ON THE ASSASSINATION:

First of all, we send our deepest condolences to the family of Qassem Soleimani and the people of Iran and our sincerest apologies that the nation we live in has decided to assassinate him (and others) in a blatant attack which should be prosecuted at the highest levels of international law. 

We also stand in solidarity with the people of Iran who are in the streets protesting this current crime by the hundreds of thousands. 

We’d also like to honor the memory of General Soleimani and the many sacrifices he made fighting US-led or fomented terrorism in the Middle East. Although we oppose war, we also recognize the right of the people to resist violence and occupation and we oppose 

US imperialist mis-adventurism and violence most of all.

Since Soleimani was in Iraq to help Iraqis battle terrorism when he was murdered, we’d also like to show our solidarity with the people of Iraq who have been resisting US imperialism for many decades. 

We join our voices with theirs to demand a full and rapid withdrawal of US troops, independent mercenaries, and all CIA operatives from their country. The government of Iraq must listen to the voices of its people and not the demands of the bully-nation that has been destroying it for profit.

As we are already seeing the stock of “defense” contractors skyrocket along with the price of oil, March on the Pentagon also strongly condemns the ghoulish profiteers and oppose any further carnage on their behalf.

Iran has long been the “cherry on top” for the neoconservative US/Israeli imperial project, and only the people of the world, united in solidarity against this newest outrage, can stop the disaster looming on the horizon. 

*****

LINK TO CALEB'S NEW BOOK:

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SPEAKING TRUTH TO EMPIRE (DEC 2019 EDITION)

https://soundcloud.com/speaking-truth-to-empire/191218-speaking-truth-to-empire-linda-pentz-gunter

“Speaking Truth to Empire” on KFCF 88.1 independently owned and locally operated since 1975 in Fresno, Dan Yaseen interviews Linda Pentz Gunter, she founded Beyond Nuclear.org in 2007 and serves as its international specialist as well as its media and development director. Prior to her work in anti-nuclear advocacy, she was a journalist for 20 years in print and broadcast, working for USA Network, Reuters, The Times (UK) and other US and international outlets. In 2018, Linda launched a new web platform, BeyondNuclearInternational.org, which aims to reframe the anti-nuclear message through a more human lens.

Her writings appear on beyondnuclearinternational.org, Counterpunch, Truthout and the Ecologist.

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Cutting Through the Impeachment Quagmire with Jon Jeter: (Recording of MoP Monthly Community Conference Call: 12/15/19)

December 15, 2019

The latest entry in March on the Pentagon's Community Conference call series is a conference call with "recovering" journalist Jon Jeter.

Jon and Cindy share their analysis of the impeachment imbroglio from a non-partisan perspective.

Please listen to this informative and interesting chat.

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Cutting Through the Impeachment Quagmire with Jon Jeter: (MoP Monthly Community Conference Call: 12/15/19)

Cutting Through the Impeachment Quagmire

w/guest

Jon Jeter

(Journalist)

DETAILS:

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2019

TIMES: 3PM PACIFIC

4PM MOUNTAIN

5PM CENTRAL

6PM EASTERN

PHONE IN NUMBER:

605-313-5111

ACCESS CODE:

576862

Join March on the Pentagon and journalist Jon Jeter to discuss the impeachment show in DC; what is happening in the world that is being covered-up because of the wall-to-wall obsession with impeachment, and what does this mean for anti-imperialists and our movement?

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Imprison Pelosi for War Crimes The Continuing Saga of the Congressional Evil-Clown Show By Cindy Sheehan

Imprison Pelosi for War Crimes
The Continuing Saga of the Congressional Evil-Clown Show
By
Cindy Sheehan

The International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg, which followed World War II, called the waging of aggressive war "essentially an evil thing...to initiate a war of aggression...is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime, differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole.

Back in 2009 president-elect Barack Obama was asked by George Stephanopoulos if prosecuting the Bush regime for war crimes was in the cards and while rejecting that idea, he had this to say about investigating torture and the unnecessary deaths of over one million people in Iraq, “ (Obama held) "a belief that we need to look forward as opposed to looking backwards (sic).”

I paraphrased Obama’s comment at the time as, “I cannot prosecute the former Commander in Chief, because I need the same professional courtesy from the one who will follow me.” Of course, after committing many such atrocious war crimes and crimes against humanity while U.S. president himself, my conjecture at his motives were unfortunately pretty on target. My hypothesis then was based not on a Tarot card or tea leaves reading, but the reading of past U.S. history. Even though the office of POTUS is riddled with thugs and war criminals, some massive, some not so massive (but still horrible), not one U.S. president has been held accountable.

I posted an article last week that I authored about the impeachment circus centering around House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her new-found zeal for the rule of law and the U.S. Constitution in prosecuting the Trump regime and one of the questions I asked was “why?” Why was she now such a “Warrior Goddess of the U.S. Constitution" when she refused to institute an investigation against the blatant war criminal George W. Bush? Well, recently at a CNN town hall meeting she appeared on, to my delight, an audience member asked him this very question.

Her answer (watch link here) was long, rambling, and at times incoherent, but basically, her answer boils down to: “Look, I was the ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee before the war and we knew that Saddam had no WMD.” Then she went on to mock people who “still believe” that Iraq had anything to do with 9/11.

So, right there on national TV, without an ounce of shame or remorse, she admitted to being an accomplice of the Bush regime in war crimes and crimes against humanity. I am not an attorney or legal scholar, but I do know that there is no statute of limitations on murder and maybe a new wing should be added to Ft. Leavenworth prison to incarcerate every war criminal---Democrat or Republican--who lied about this mass murder.

Over one million Iraqi were killed in that war crime with several million more being displaced or maimed. BABIES are being born with deformities and children are dying from cancer at an alarming rate due to the introduction of depleted uranium and other war-toxins into that country by the US Military and its profiteers. This person Pelosi and everyone else who was complicit in these war crimes—including Secretary of State and noted war criminal Colin Powell who is now calling for Republicans to “do the right thing” and remove Trump from office—should be rotting in federal prison, at the very least.

I would like war criminal and apparent sociopath Pelosi to think about what she did and continues to do during this holiday season, being the “good Catholic” that she claims to be: not only did her lies and cover-up of the truth decimate Iraq (with the crimes continuing to this day), almost five-thousand US troops (including my son Casey) were killed with many more being wounded and about eight Iraq/Afghan veterans committing suicide every day, to this day. Unforgivably, Pelosi. is prospering and has her crime-family intact and she doesn’t have to go buy poinsettias for her son’s grave this holiday season.

My son Casey was a vibrant, loving human-being who did always try to do the right thing. The last time we physically saw him was Christmas of 2003, and he told everybody that he “didn’t want to go to Iraq, but he had to,” and he was certain that he couldn’t “kill anybody,” and he was killed in combat very shortly after he arrived.

Pelosi could have stopped this, slowed it down, or ameliorated the damage if she weren't such an A + member of the heinous U.S War Establishment. With the authority of being the "ranking member" of the House Intelligence Committee, she could have credibly made the case against war, but she knowingly and WITH MALICE aforethought chose not to. 


You will notice that Pelosi has been a fundamental player in US politics for several decades and in a leadership role for many of those years. POTUS administrations come and go, but Pelosi seems to be forever. One can argue that Pelosi is not a "major player" in US scandals, but I think the facts belie this. She is able to accumulate power through her wealth and longevity and I don't think anyone should underestimate her political cleverness, even if she's not very articulate at times. Pelosi openly admitted this on national TV and it makes me wonder about all the crimes she hasn't confessed to.

Pelosi and her ilk are drenched in the blood and gore of millions, but now she is going ahead with the impeachment of Trump for not selling weapons to the neo-Nazi’s in Ukraine fast enough (weapons that are used to murder their opposition)? For appealing to a Ukrainian official for the investigation of a Democrat (Biden) who was a member of a regime that helped to install those neo-Nazis in Ukraine in the first place and for using his influence as Vice President to get his son a very lucrative job? 
 In a different place, or time, maybe, Pelosi's admission would be monumental and proceedings would be instituted to hold those responsible accountable, but face it, we live in the era of the soundbite/worship of wealthy war criminals, but only we can prevent this from going down the memory hole with many other truly significant things. The antics of the clowns in Congress (and let's never forget the devious role of their minions in the corporate media) would be amusing if there weren’t so much at stake with their monumentally vicious crimes: the crimes of aggressive and pre-emptive war.

Related post: US Deceived Public on War in Afghanistan, Documents Reveal

Please share this article with your contacts. Thanks!

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If you liked this piece, or think it has value, please donate to Cindy Sheehan's Soapbox:

 

Just Say "No" to Military Recruitment. Video with Peace Mom Cindy Sheehan

Cindy Sheehan has been an influential voice in the Peace Movement for three presidencies. However, what was it that drove her to activism? We believe her story to be one of the examples of how the counter-recruitment organizations within NNOMY (The National Network Opposing the Militarization of Youth) is motivated by a desire to avoid the human suffering that participating in war can entail. 

If you want to learn more about NNOMY's work, visit http://nnomy.org ------------- 

Music: A New Year by Scott Buckley https://soundcloud.com/scottbuckley Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0 Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/_a-new-year Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/FrLsadzQ2qc

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CINDY SHEEHAN'S SOAPBOX