Tag: #NoWarWithIran

Tues: 1/14: The “imminent threat” has always been to himself. Call your legislators!

“You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”

-Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride.

We thought that the Soliemani assassination was a suspiciously well-timed and bloody wag-the-dog from Trump’s impeachment, but it’s worse than that. News stories say that he may have felt pressured to kill the Iranian general to curry favor with some of his future jurors in the Senate. “High crimes and misdemeanors” is an apt phrase for a president willing to starting a war to save himself. But using military force without proof of imminent attack is more than abuse of presidential power – it’s actually illegal and should rightfully be added to the articles against him. His trial is no longer just about whether he extorted a foreign country to smear a political rival. Over 200 people from seven countries have died as collateral damage from those Jan. 3rd drone strikes. This struggle to hold on to his ill-gotten seat has turned into a bloodsport and we will not accept a sham trial.

Events since the original two impeachment articles were approved:

  • Just Security issued a report on Trump’s direct involvement in the illegal withholding of funding from Ukraine, naming a full range of potential witnesses.
  • John Bolton, former national security advisor, and the “first-person witness” the GOP has stated they want, has volunteered to testify, though Trump plans to block him his appearance, claiming executive privilege to “protect the office.”
  • Lev Parnas, a Soviet-born associate of Rudy Giuliani, has just submitted the contents of his cellphones, including audio and video recordings, to the House Intelligence Committee.
  • The Wall Street Journal reported on Trump’s possible influence from senate supporter and potential impeachment jurors to strike against Gen. Soliemani, a possible war crime.

Make these calls.

Minimum script for Representatives: I’m calling from [zip code] and I want Rep. [___] to support the following things. Continue reading “Tues: 1/14: The “imminent threat” has always been to himself. Call your legislators!” →

Thurs 1/9: “Hold on, Madam Speaker!” And don’t miss the anti-war rallies tonight!

Action #1 – Go to your “NO WAR” rally tonight! There are over 365 of them across America! 

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Action #2 – Trump can use”emergency powers” to stop impeachment. His action of war against Iran is a warning.

Read yesterday’s post about the terrifying powers our immoral president can use “in case of emergency.” This is no mere “wag-the-dog” comedy. Make the calls to your legislators supporting all anti-war bills now.

Action #3 – Don’t send the articles to the Senate Chipper-Shredder of Oblivion yet! 

Our more antsy legislators want to put up a white flag to McConnell and hand the articles of impeachment over to a rigged “trial” and certain dismissal or acquittal. (See Sen. Schumer’s statement here about McConnell’s misleading claims of similarity to the Clinton impeachment) There’s no hurry other than handing Trump a win before his Feb. 4th SOTU address. Our country deserves better. New developments will lead to additional charges and those involved need to speak on the record, using Congress’ power of inherent contempt if necessary, and be questioned by people who care about the answers. That means that the House has more work to do. Don’t let everything done so far evaporate in McConnell’s hands. This impeachment is worth a war to Trump. It’s worth a wait.

Minimal script for Nancy Pelosi: I’m calling from [zip code] to thank Speaker Nancy Continue reading “Thurs 1/9: “Hold on, Madam Speaker!” And don’t miss the anti-war rallies tonight!” →

Mon – 1/6: Trump choosing war, right now, is not a coincidence. It’s his next logical step. Iran is not the only country in trouble. Call your legislators now!

“In the first 48 hours after this attack, what did we hear? Well, we heard it was for an imminent attack. Then we heard, no, no, it was to prevent any kind of future attack. Then we heard from the vice president himself, no, it was related to 9/11. And then we heard from press reports of people in the intelligence community saying that the threat was overblown.” Elizabeth Warren.

Our wars start with lies. This one is no exception. 

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This is not hyberbole. It’s part of a dark alchemy that those in power use – to transform the base metal of fear into hate, hate into “patriotism”,”patriotism” into war, war into money, and at the end… into gold –  a small star to mark the sacrifice of a son or a daughter, a husband or a wife.

2003’s version: Colin Powell now calls his lie something that will “always be a part of my record” when he deliberately fabricated “evidence” of “weapons of mass destruction” (WMD) and ignored repeated warnings that what he was saying was false. As of June 2016, his lie has caused the deaths of 4,424 soldiers and 31,952 wounded in action (WIA)  and the extinction of hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians.

2020 version: After a number of literally false starts, Mike Pence is having his own Colin Powell moment, trying to link Iran to Al Queda and 9/11, to justify both the assassination of General Suleimani, (there’s no connection, according to actual experts) and to legally engage in war. Because if they can make us believe their story, the administration can use the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF), to “use all necessary and appropriate force…”. Iran has already responded by completely pulling out of the nuclear deal and Trump just threatened Iraq for disinviting our 6000 troops.

How to fight back? Read this excellent article by currentaffairs.org called “How to avoid swallowing war propaganda” and share it widely. It will help us all cut through bad arguments, Hitlerized enemies, euphemisms, rabbit holes like Jessica Lynch and Pat Tillman, and let us see murder for what it is. And with Trump is charge, that it could be something more.

Trump is going all in with lethal force because he’s playing for keeps. And he’s not focusing on countries far away.

Continue reading “Mon – 1/6: Trump choosing war, right now, is not a coincidence. It’s his next logical step. Iran is not the only country in trouble. Call your legislators now!” →

No War With Iran Ventura County – Join the Across-the-Nation Rally on Thursday (Jan 9th)

When: 5:00 pm on Thursday, January 9th
Where: Corner of Victoria and Telephone in front of the Ventura Country Government Center. 800 S. Victoria Ave, Ventura
Bring: A flashlight to light the night! Bring American, peace and impeach flags, signs, friends and your unbridled enthusiasm! Bring cookies or snacks if you got ’em. We will have a voter registration table, music, and a special surprise!
RSVP: On the Facebook event page  (share, share, share! Use the share–invite friends feature)
More info and stay up to date: Visit nowarwithiran.org or the Facebook event page

We will not be forced into another war so a corrupt president can wag-the-dog away from his impeachment or increase his election chances. The bodies of our soldiers are not GOP party favors.

Across our Nation, the anti-war majority in this country will get visible to oppose Trump’s war and say #NoWarWithIran.

Trump’s reckless action has needlessly endangered countless Continue reading “No War With Iran Ventura County – Join the Across-the-Nation Rally on Thursday (Jan 9th)” →