March 14, 2006 at 17:13:30

Empty Envelopes for Empty Promises

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By Steve Bhaerman (about the author) Page 2 of 2 page(s)

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A small but growing group of Democrats have shown the courage to stand up to election fraud, an illegal war, and the frightening attempts on the part of this Administration to create a police state. I will continue to support these Democrats by making a contribution to the Progressive Democrats of America, and I have urged everyone else I know to do the same.

What will it take for me to make a financial contribution to the Democratic Party itself? Glad you asked. Here are just a few courageous and visionary steps you and the Party leadership can take:

1. Stand for the impeachment of the Bush-Cheney Administration, and call our conduct in pursuing an illegal, immoral and ill-conceived war of choice what it is: war crimes. There are enough lies, enough illegal activities to bring charges. There is no point in waiting. Force the Republicans to choose between their President and their principles. If they have none of the latter, let it be obvious for all to see. Make impeachment a campaign issue by standing for it now.

2. Stand for a true Voters Rights Amendment to the Constitution which guarantees open access to voting machines, paper trails, and publicly-financed campaigns. This is the only way to take corporate lobbyists out of elections, and put the people back in. The fact that companies like Diebold are telling us, sorry you can't look into our machines because of proprietary software is more than absurd, it's obscene. If the Democrats can't stand for total election transparency, then you have my blessing to go the way of the Whigs and the Know-Nothings.

3. Acknowledge and investigate charges of voter fraud in Ohio and Florida in 2004, just like John Kerry didn't. Remember, unanswered perpetrations tend to embolden the perpetrator.

4. Acknowledge the war in Iraq was a legal, moral and tactical mistake and stand for ending it NOW. Stand for a foreign policy that shows we know the difference between being hated around the world and being respected. Loudly and boldly declare a congruent plan for weaning ourselves from oil.

5. Call for a re-investigation of 9/11. Yeah, that's right. The official story has more holes in it than Dick Cheney's hunting buddy. How could a handful of scruffy foreign nationals have caught the entire U.S. Air Command napping without someone on the inside tipping them off? How come no one, no individual, was held accountable for the most deadly attack ever on American soil? You have only to read the works of theologian David Ray Griffin (The New Pearl Harbor The 9/11 Commission Report: Omissions and Distortions) to see that there are far too many unanswered questions and unquestioned answers.

6. Help America move into the new millennium by being a stand for transparency and problem-solving instead of instead of hedging and ideological positioning. It's time for politics as unusual -- working together across ideological lines to confront the ethical, environmental and economic issues that 80% to 90% of Americans agree need to be handled. Being the true party of the center in this sense is not about wimpy compromise, but about imaginative leadership.

7. Finally, the Democrats need to have a clear and compelling plan for what they would do instead. The current gang in power have pretty much guaranteed us a future of never-ending warfare, loss of civil liberties and virtual police state powers, growing gap between rich and poor, environmental destruction, and privatization of everything -- including the truth. If you can't come up with something more appealing than that, then why would any swing voter swing your way?

Dr. Dean, government of, by and for the people has not yet perished from this earth. But it is on life-support. Millions of Americans have now awakened to the nightmare that the precious dream of our Founding Fathers is in grave danger. We have votes that don't count. We have a media suppressing truth and enabling lies. We have a regime that uses intimidation to make illegal actions legal. We have a political system so run by money, that our representatives can no longer represent our interests, or the interests of the commonwealth.

We now face the greatest crisis -- and opportunity -- our country has ever been faced with. Do we devolve into neo-feudalism kept in place by a Big Brother police state? Or do we confront the monster we have created with our own fear and apathy, boldly tell the truth, and call on all Americans to come together, work together and stand for the moral principles (not the religious dogma) our country was founded on? If we can do this, we won't have to worry about imposing democracy on recalcitrant Middle Eastern regimes. People worldwide will come running and shouting: I'll have what THEY'RE having!

The time for muddling in the middle is over. I have faith that the people of America will be both relieved to hear the truth spoken, and inspired to act with conscience and imagination. Do you have that faith, Dr. Dean? Are you willing to lead, and encourage the real leaders within the party? We're running out of time, and we've just about run out of grace. It's time for America to wake up, wise up and grow up. Are you ready for this era's rendevous with destiny?

We are.

Respectfully,

Steve Bhaerman
Awake American Citizen
(one of many millions)

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Steve Bhaerman is a writer, humorist and uncommontator who's been posing as cosmic comic Swami Beyondananda for the past 20 years. As the Swami, Steve is the author of four books including his latest, Swami for Precedent: A 7-Step Plan to Heal the (more...)

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