Action Alert: The Bills That Can End the War

I would add to David Swanson’s excellent summary below that Barak Obama Tuesday introduced the Iraq War De-escalation Act of 2007 Fact sheet here. http://obama.senate.gov/press/070130 obama_offers_plan_to_stop_escalation_of_iraq_war_begin_phased_redeployment_of_troops/index.html The legislation commences redeployment of U.S. forces no later than May 1, 2007 with the goal of removing all combat brigades from Iraq by March 31, 2008, a date that is consistent with the expectation of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group.

Suggested Actions:

Rep. Raul Grijalva, CD 7, a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and the Out of Iraq caucus (65 members), is working hard on our behalf to end this occupation. He is listed as a cosponsor on Woolsey’s HR 508, but not yet on Nadler’s bill, HR 455. You can call his Tucson office ( (520)622-6788) to register your thanks for his work and his cosponsorship of Rep Woolsey’s bill, and to ask him to also cosponsor Nadler's HR455. Both bills are referred to the House Armed Services Committee,

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, CD8, sits on the House Armed Services Committee. Please call her office ( 520) 881-3588 ) and urge her to vote the bills out of committee and onto the floor of the house when they come up for review. Please also urge her to cosponsor at least one of the three house bills David Swanson discusses below, and to join the Out of Iraq Caucus. She has said publicly that we must get out of Iraq, a surefire applause line in CD8. Joining the Out of Iraq caucus is how she can help make that happen.

Rep. Ed Pastor, CD 4, also a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, is a member of the House Appropriations Committee. He voted against the initial Resolution approving the war in Iraq, but has not yet joined the Out of Iraq caucus Please urge him to do so, and to work with the OOI caucus to support rep. Nadler’s bill as an amendment to the supplemental spending bill when it comes before the committee. (602) 256-0551

gerry

The Bills That Can End the War
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/nadlerbill
By PDA Board Member David Swanson

Summary

Senator Feingold held a hearing on the topic yesterday and plans to introduce a bill today to end the war by denying the President the money to continue it. http://feingold.senate.gov/issues_redeploy_factsheet.html Congress Members Lynn Woolsey, Jim McGovern, and Jerrold Nadler have bills in the House to do the same. But the bills are not all the same.

Congressman Nadler's bill, H.R. 455, crafted as an amendment to a supplemental spending bill, may very well be the best crafted piece of legislation. If the supplemental cannot be voted down, this bill can be added to the supplemental, thus making a yes vote on the supplemental a vote to end the war this year. Bush would have a choice between signing a bill to end the war, vetoing a bill providing the money he needs to continue the war, or going outside the rule of law in a manner that even Congress might be disturbed by.It does not cut off funding. Rather, it limits what any Iraq funding can be spent on to : (A) the continued protection of members of the Armed Forces who are in Iraq pending their withdrawal ; and (B) the safe and orderly withdrawal of the United States Armed Forces from Iraq pursuant to a schedule that provides for commencement of the withdrawal not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act and completion not later than December 31, 2007.

McGovern's bill includes exceptions for guarding the embassy and for the Army Corps of Engineers that Nadler should add to his. McGovern's bill is here: http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/mcgovernbill No number yet.

Woolsey's bill includes provisions for a range of needs, including health care for our veterans. Woolsey's bill is a complete plan for Iraq, and therefore immune from numerous criticisms and subject to numerous criticisms. You can read about it at
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/woolseybill

The Virtual Iraq Veterans Memorial

The Iraq Veterans Memorial
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/actnow?bid=4&pid=158679
Filmmaker Robert Greenwald has just announced the formation of the Iraq Veterans Memorial. This living online tribute to US soldiers killed in Iraq will bear witness with 60-second video testimonies of family, friends, co-workers, and military colleagues of those killed. The memorial will be unveiled on March 19th--the war's fourth anniversary--across the internet.
Please contact him with any stories you have to add. gerry

Plea from Joyce: Urge Giffords to support HR 508: Troops Home

 If you're in d. 8, please visit, call or email rep. giffords to urge her to co-sponsor and vote for rep lynn woolsey's (d-ca) HR 508, The Bring Our Troops Home and Sovereignty of Iraq Restoration Act NOW!
and even if you're not, it affects all of us, so call or email anyway .
 
the text of HR 508 is on the pda website:
http://www.pdamerica.org/articles/news/2007-01-17-22-20-47-news.php
 
raul and 26 others are co-sponsoring it as of now.
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:h508:
 
giffords' email website: http://giffords.house.gov/IMA/issue_subscribe.htm

Tucson Congressional Office
1661 North Swan
Suite 112
Tucson, AZ 85712
Phone:(520) 881-3588
Fax: (520) 322-9490

Thank you. Joyce Smith

June Wortman to GV News: More demonstrations feb 14 and 24

January 28, 2007

Dear Editor,

Thank you for not only covering the Peace Demonstration yesterday, January 27, but for being there to observe for yourself.

I do not understand your editorially expressed concern about violence that might develop from such demonstrations. In my memory, the only violence that resulted from peace demonstrations was violence perpetrated by the police. The incident in Chicago, years ago, and incidents in New York occurred when the police cordoned off the demonstrators into small isolated areas, rushed them with guard dogs, water-hosed them, and other rough tactics, shackled them and took them to jail. . The same was true of the early peace walks in Selma, Alabama. Even today, through the CIA's monitoring of peace groups such as American Friends Service Committee, and the spying on emails that the Bush administration has been doing without court permission, "peace- nicks" are still being treated like criminals, and terrorist threats, and are often called terrorist sympathysers in the conservative press. So why are you worried about violence from the peace-loving people? Why not worry more about the possibilities of our moving toward an abusive police state?

Do we not have the right, in our Constitution, to protest against government policy without being considered sedition or traitorous? The Declaration of Independence even presents the rights of citizens to over-throw the government.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness, --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed - That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."

I hope your concern about future violence, and implication of blaming the peaceful demonstrators, will not frighten and intimidate people from continuing to participate in peaceful demonstrations. Your continued coverage should help to present the facts of such demonstration, whatever occurs The courts, I am sure, will continue to uphold, as they have in the past, the right to peaceful demonstration, and dismiss charges that are brought against whose only crime has been to be present at such demonstrations.

We do plan to have more such peaceful demonstrations, one on Wednesday, February 14 at 10:00am - "Make Love, Not War" on Valentines Day, and another on Saturday, February 24 at 1:00pm, both at the same location, Esperanza and La Canada Blvds. Anyone wanting information can contact JunesRag@cox.net or call 520-648-5877. We will continue them until or government gets out of Iraq and ends our military interference in the Middle East, a policy that the majority of American citizens support, according to the last election and the opinion polls. All are welcome to participate in these non-politically sponsored events.

Yours in hope and peace, June Wortman