Friday, June 20, 2003

First Internet Primary QUOTE OF THE DAY "Liberty means responsibility; that is why most men dread it." - - George Bernard Shaw JUNE 20th IN HISTORY: 1953 --  This would be the morning after the execution of Julius & Ethel Rosenberg in Sing-Sing Prison, Ossining, NY. (Rhino's note: It occurred about 8pm EST on the 19th) Despite widespread international protest & compelling evidence of their innocence, the Rosenbergs were electrocuted for alleged sale of atomic secrets to Russians. They were the first native-born Americans to die for committing espionage in peacetime. In one of her last letters before being executed, Ethel Rosenberg wrote: "My husband & I must be vindicated by history... We are the first victims of American Fascism." RHINO HERE: A reminder that today, June 20th, is a National Day of Prayer to Protect Native American Sacred Places. http://www.sacredland.org/Prayer_Day.html With today's blog I call your attention to another new political phenomenon on the internet. That would be The MoveOn Presidential Primary. Next Tuesday & Wednesday, the hundreds of thousands strong progressive internet political action committee will hold its 1st Presidential primary. As the progressive internet community in general, and MoveOn in particular, had an instrumental role in getting hundreds of thousands of people into the streets to protest the invasion of Iraq, so too can an early solidarity of progressive voters have a powerful impact on the process of choosing a Democratic candidate. That's the plan and Rhino likes it. Over 1.4 MILLION progressive activists are expected to cast ballots. If one of the candidates gets more than 50% of the votes, MoveOn will endorse them, meaning directing volunteers to the campaign & raising money -- including holding an 'urgent' fundraiser in time for the Federal Election Commission's June 30 deadline. If none of the candidates reaches the 50% threshold, which could be difficult, given the size of the field, MoveOn will put off announcing its endorsement until this summer. Last week MoveOn asked its members if it should consider an early endorsement. 186,000 people responded and 96% said, "definitely!" So they took the results of their May 29th presidential straw poll, and asked the 3 top choices, Dean, Kucinich & Kerry, to do exclusive MoveOn interviews & to write statements to the membership. CANDIDATE INTERVIEWS & STATEMENTS ARE POSTED AT: http://www.moveon.org/pac/cands To vote in the primary, you have to be a member, or you need to register. REGISTER FOR THE MOVE ON PRIMARY AT: http://www.moveon.org/pac/reg Rhino suggests encouraging your friends & web circles to participate too. The more of us that join this process, the better chances that ordinary voters, not pundits or big donors, will determine the Democratic nominee. WASHINGTON POST COVERAGE OF THE MOVE ON PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY IS AT: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A57519-2003Jun13.html So, now you wanna know who Rhino's gonna vote for? Is the 1st question we should ask ourselves, "WHO IS ELECTABLE?" I think to beat the shrub gang, it's gonna take a miracle. Like the 50% of registered voters who don't vote to come out and vote. Or like the 50% of Americans eligible to register to vote who aren't registered to get out and register and vote. Or like the hip-hop rap community to pump up support for a progressive candidate. Maybe even the same candidate that a majority of unions support. And maybe that could be someone the Greens would be willing to re-register as Democrats to get to vote for. Someone who has an underdog reputation and a track record for winning elections by large majorities even in predominantly Republican districts. After reading the statements & interviews at MoveOn.org, I support Dennis Kucinich for President. Today's RHINO'S BOTTOM LINE is a letter of support sent out by another internet advocacy group; Democrats.com. 7:01:21 AM    comment

RHINO'S BOTTOM LINE - Democrats.com Letter Of Support for Dennis Kucinich RHINO'S BOTTOM LINE Democrats.com Letter Of Support for Dennis Kucinich in the MoveOn Presidential Primary In the coming week, the members of Democrats.com can truly make history! On Tuesday and Wednesday, June 24-25, over 1.4 MILLION progressive activists will cast ballots in the first online presidential primary hosted by Moveon.org.  If you are not already a member of Moveon, click here to register: http://www.denniskucinich.us/moveon On Tuesday June 24, you will receive an e-mail from Moveon with a unique link for you to click to cast your vote. How big is the Moveon primary? Imagine if all of the people who marched against Bush's Iraq War on that cold February 15 gathered in one place to choose the Presidential candidate who was the most forceful and articulate opponent of that war - THAT's how big this is! The Moveon primary is NOT about which candidate has the most money - or the coziest relations with party bosses or the corporate media. It IS about which candidate will fight hardest for the issues we care about most. In other words, the Moveon primary is about REAL democracy - where issues matter and EVERY VOTE COUNTS. PoliticsOnline calls it "the most direct and revolutionary primary the US has experienced. Mainstream media and politics have not caught on to this news yet [and] might get left out of the entire political process." We say Amen to that! If Dennis does well, he stands to gain tremendous resources from Moveon members in the form of volunteers and contributions.  We are urging ALL of our subscribers to vote for Dennis Kucinich in the Moveon primary. If you are not already a member of Moveon, click here to register: http://www.denniskucinich.us/moveon Why Dennis Kucinich? It's simple: when we needed him, he was there for us. And now that he needs us, we must be there for him! Kucinich was born in Cleveland, Ohio on October 8, 1946. He is the eldest of 7 children of Frank and Virginia Kucinich. He and his family lived in twenty-one places, including a couple of cars, by the time Kucinich was 17 years old. "I live each day with a grateful heart and a desire to be of service to humanity," he says. Dennis has been there for ordinary Americans his entire career, starting when he was elected to the Cleveland City Council in 1969 at age 23. At age 31, he was elected Mayor of Cleveland - the youngest person ever elected to lead a major American city. He stood up to the big corporations and refused to sell Cleveland's municipal power company. The banks reacted by putting Cleveland in default and working to defeat Dennis in the next election. But Dennis was right, and in 1998 the Cleveland City Council honored him for "having the courage and foresight to refuse to sell the city's municipal electric system." Dennis was elected to Congress in 1996, and he has been fighting for progressive causes ever since. Dennis was there for us on the streets of Seattle in 1999, when he was the only Democratic candidate to join activists from environmental, labor and social justice movements to protest the WTO and the ravages of corporate-dominated trade deals negotiated behind closed doors. Dennis was there for us in October 2001, when he voted AGAINST the USA Patriot Act - the only Presidential candidate to do so. Dennis was there for us on February 17, 2002, when he wrote "A Prayer for America" - the passionate anti-Bush speech that was heard around the world: http://www.kucinich.us/speeches/speech1.htm Dennis was there for us in October 2002 when Bush demanded a Congressional vote authorizing his war, using phony intelligence to fraudulently portray Iraq as an imminent threat to the security of the United States. As co-chair (with Rep. Barbara Lee) of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Dennis persuaded 126 House members to vote No.  Dennis was there for us on February 15, 2003 when he spoke to half a million protesters in New York City and defied the Mayor who denied us a permit to march on orders from Bush, saying: "We are on the march. We will either bring an end to war or we will bring an end to a war-like administration. We are on the march!"   Dennis was there for us AFTER Bush launched his War - when other candidates supported the war or went silent - repeating his unequivocal opposition:  "Tonight, President Bush has commanded U.S. forces to go to war in violation of American traditions of defensive war. This war is wrong; it violates the Constitution and international law." And Dennis is there for us now, demanding the truth about Bush's WMD lies through H. Res. 260, a "Resolution of Inquirty" which would force Bush to produce the evidence he relied upon when he insisted that Iraq had WMD's that were an imminent threat to the United States. Bush desperately wants to conceal the truth from the American people - but Dennis won't let him. What will Dennis Kucinich do after we elect him as President? Here is his 10-point platform: [1] Universal Health Care with a Single Payer Plan [2] Full Social Security Benefits at Age 65 [3] Withdrawal from NAFTA and WTO [4] Repeal of the "Patriot Act" [5] Right-to-Choose, Privacy, and Civil Rights [6] Balance Between Workers and Corporations [7] Guaranteed Quality Education, Pre-K through College [8] A Renewed Commitment to Peace and Diplomacy [9] Restored Rural Communities and Family Farms [10] Environmental Renewal and Clean Energy You can read the details here: http://www.kucinich.us/issues/issue_10key.htm Dennis can win the Moveon primary if we ALL vote for him. In a straw poll of Moveon members last week, Dennis was among the top three. Dennis also finished in the top three at the Wisconsin Democratic convention last week. Need more info? You can compare ALL of the candidates in the Moveon primary here: http://www.moveon.org/pac/cands/ And you can read Dennis' letter to Moveon members here: http://www.moveon.org/pac/cands/kucinich.html Once again, you must register here: http://www.denniskucinich.us/moveon On Tuesday June 24, you will receive an e-mail from Moveon with a unique link for you to click to cast your vote. Sincerely,    Bob Fertik, co-founder p.s. Here are some recent campaign bulletins - - On June 5, Dennis electrified the audience of 1200 progressive activists at the recent "Take Back America" conference in Washington DC hosted by the Campaign for America's Future. According to Salon, "Kucinich's Bush roasting gets the biggest cheers"- and we know that's true, because we were there. - - On June 4, Dennis voted against the cruel Republican bill to outlaw so-called "partial birth" abortions. He declared, "We must respect the basic human dignity of women to make personal decisions." - - Dennis is inspiring creative endeavors across the country, online and off. Independent political cartoonist Scott Bateman has created a series of delightful (and brief) animated "Kucinich Komix" here: http://www.bobharris.com/kucinich.html - - Ralph Nader has invited Dennis to speak at a mass rally in Baltimore, Thurs. June 26. http://democracyrising.org/baltimore/ "RHINO'S BLOG" is the responsibility of Gary Rhine. (rhino@kifaru.com) Feedback, and requests to be added or deleted from the list are encouraged. SEARCH BLOG ARCHIVES / SURF RHINO'S LINKS, AT: http://www.rhinosblog.info RHINO'S OTHER WEB SITES: http://www.dreamcatchers.org (INDIGENOUS ASSISTANCE & INTERCULTURAL DIALOG) http://www.kifaru.com (NATIVE AMERICAN RELATIONS VIDEO DOCUMENTARIES) Articles are reprinted under Fair Use Doctrine of international copyright law. http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html All copyrights belong to original publisher. 6:12:45 AM    comment

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