May 14, 2009 at 09:54:00

Open Letter To My Representative, William Delahunt, D-MA

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By Nick van Nes (about the author) Page 1 of 2 page(s)

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For OpEdNews: Nick van Nes - Writer

Dear Congressman Delahunt,

I write as a common person, most curious to know how closely and accurately you represent me and my community in our fight to investigate and prosecute war crimes including torture. I feel our views are very much ignored in the main stream media. I would like no more than fifteen minutes of your time, (as you would give others) to sit down with you and discuss very pertinent issues facing our nation and to learn first hand, from you, not subordinate go-betweens, how you weigh in on these priorities.

I have not seen any significant change since the new Obama Administration has taken office.

I have been told by your staff that your schedule is extremely busy. That it would take more than a month to see you. I am perfectly willing to wait that time, ( I have been waiting for 8 years), but I would like the appointment confirmed in writing so that I am not told with 3 days to go that, barring any emergencies, I will have to wait another month. I am quite "busy" myself. Having to wait a month does not intimidate me nor make me want to change my mind. What I have to say to you is of growing importance. In one month it will be that much more important,not less important. What I have to say to you, what I would like you to bring to Washington so that I may be heard by my fellow man and by my country will not go away nor be discouraged in time.

As I have said in previous, unanswered communications,I am happy to meet with you any time before that, spontaneously, at your convenience, given short notice. So far, all my efforts to reach you and accommodate you have been ignored. All my emails have been ignored. All my phone calls have been ignored.

Attached is one of my latest comments, relating to an article on torture. I think it very much implicates you as a Congressman, especially in light of your well known position to keep impeachment off the table. Accordingly, I would like to meet with you to discuss this and other positions you may be acting upon, regarding 9/11 and our "War on Terror", without your constituency being aware of or in agreement with.

Personally, I would like to see you, as "my" representative, get behind a growing grass roots demand to spearhead independent and bi-partisan investigation/prosecution for war crimes, including torture, if you do in fact feel it is warranted; and if not, I would be interested in your point of view and reasons for it and an an opportunity to persuade you to think and act otherwise.

If this is unacceptable or reason not good enough, I would like to ask you, my Congressman, under what terms do you allow any meeting to take place? Who are those important or elite enough to have that blessing of shared influence? How long must a commoner wait before his or her concerns reach opened eyes and ears? How does one get to meet with one's representative? Must I make a monetary contribution first? Seriously. I am asking out of ignorance because all my previous efforts to date have gone unnoticed and failed.

I am left to ask, is it me or is it our system of representation which is failing all of us?

People are screaming for accountability and justice but no action is being seen on the horizon.

Thank you for your kind attention to this matter.

I remain, patiently running out of patience,

Nick van Nese House Correspondents' Association dinner, delivered a monologue accusing his hosts of being stenographers who had, in essence, let the Bush White House get away with murder (or at least the war in Iraq). To prove the point, the partying journalists in the Washington Hilton ballroom could be seen (courtesy of C-Span) fawning over government potentates

Attached:

On the Prosecution of Torture and how our Representatives are Stonewalling Us.

Regarding what Americans might think about torture, poll the deep south during the civil rights movement to find if they thought true equality of minorities was a noble cause. Look at proposition 8 in California. Polls don't show anything but a cross section of what the masses might be thinking, right or wrong, at that time in history.

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I am retired from business and being forced back to work. I am a vet, (Vietnam era), extremely disappointed with the aggressive, imperialistic direction this country has taken in Iraq, to control and usurp it's oil, and the extent to which BOTH (more...)

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