Wednesday, July 9, 2003

Kucinich Endorsements Mount QUOTE OF THE DAY "Starting a cabinet-level Department of Peace; supporting unions and the right to organize; cutting the bloated military budget; restoring environmental regulations and launching a "Global Green Deal" to benefit developing countries; withdrawing from NAFTA and the WTO and challenging IMF/World Bank policies; repealing the "Patriot Act"; upholding Roe v. Wade; working for universal health insurance; and abolishing the racially and economically biased death penalty. Because we feel that he comes closest to representing our priorities, we have decided to support Dennis Kucinich for President." - -  From the official statement of the "Feminists For Kucinich" KNOW YOUR HISTORY - JULY 9th 1951 -- American novelist Dashiell Hammett sentenced, choosing 6 months' imprisonment rather than co-operate with the Committee on Un-American Activities' inquiries into domestic "subversion".  Hammett was President of the League of American Writers in 42 & of the Civil Rights Congress of New York 46-47. 1958 -- 1st US invasion of Lebanon. 14,000 troops armed with nuclear-capable rockets "protect" US interests. 1978 -- 100,000 march in Washington, D.C. for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. RHINO HERE: What do a grandmother from New Hampshire who walked across America for campaign reform at age 89, the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi & a legendary 1960s civil rights & antiwar activist all have in common? They all just endorsed Dennis Kucinich for President.  GRANNY D is the unstoppable social change activist, now in her 90s, from the first primary state of New Hampshire. In 1999, she wore out four sets of shoes and was hospitalized in Arizona for dehydration & pneumonia, but she would not be deterred as she marched for political reform from California to her triumphant arrival in Washington D.C. 14 months later. Her poetic statement of support can be read at: http://kucinich.us/wesupportdennis.htm ARUN GANDHI heads the M.K. Gandhi Institute of Nonviolence in Tennessee, where he carries on the work of his grandfather, Mahatma Gandhi. Arun is a U.S. citizen who is endorsing Dennis as an individual, not as a representative of any group. He believes, "This nation has been hijacked by right-wing politicians who are leading us on to certain disaster. Dennis Kucinich, with his progressive policies and love of peace, is the only candidate who can bring us back from the brink." Renowned activist TOM HAYDEN also endorsed Kucinich. He refers to Dennis as "the candidate with the best stands & the best history." Today's BOTTOM LINE is written by Hayden. BTW - Willie Nelson also recently endorsed Dennis & will be doing benefit concerts in his behalf. FEMINISTS FOR KUCINICH 8 diverse feminist writers & organizers initiated a statement supporting Dennis Kucinich for President. - BARBARA EHRENREICH, political essayist and author ("Nickel and Dimed"); - ANGELA GILLIAM, professor and expert on Black feminist anthropology; - YNESTRA KING, writer and activist on environmental, feminist, and disability issues; - GAIL LERNER, organizer in the global women's movement and with U.N. agencies; - GRACE PALEY, peace activist and author ("Enormous Changes at the Last Minute"); - ROSALIND PETCHESKY, international feminist activist and political science professor; - DIGNA SANCHEZ, Latina community activist in New York; - MEREDITH TAX, novelist, essayist and international organizer of feminist writers. The statement has just begun to circulate but has already attracted signatures from such prominent feminists as Blanche Weisen Cook, biographer of Eleanor Roosevelt; Marilyn French, author of "The Women's Room"; actress/singer Ronnie Gilbert; Jewish activist & poet Irena Klepfisz; & political scientist Zillah Eisenstein. TO READ THE ENTIRE "FEMINISTS FOR KUCINICH" STATEMENT & TO SIGN IT, GO TO: http://www.ipetitions.com/campaigns/feminists_4_kucinich/ Today's RHINO'S BOTTOM LINE, written by veteran progressive activist & politician, Tom Hayden, takes an honest look at the body count of American GI's killed in George Dubya Bush's war on Iraq. Hayden has written 9 books, including his newest, "Irish On The Inside."   For those who haven't followed Tom since his leadership of the student, civil rights & anti-war movements in the 60's, & the environmental & anti-nuclear movements in the 70's., he was elected to the California State Assembly in '82 & the state Senate in '92, & ran "protest" campaigns for Governor & Mayor of Los Angeles during the 90s. His legislative record includes ground breaking legislation on behalf of women, African-Americans & Latinos, Holocaust survivors & sweatshop workers. He was regarded by the Sierra Club as the strongest legislative protector of endangered species in the nation & was recognized as the California legislature's foremost watchdog against special interest waste and abuse of power. http://www.tomhayden.com 7:35:51 AM    comment

RHINO'S BOTTOM LINE - Say It: This Is a Quagmire Say It: This Is a Quagmire By Tom Hayden, AlterNet, July 7, 2003 On the day U.S. soldiers occupied Baghdad, draped the American flag over Saddam Hussein's statue and pulled it down, 103 GIs had died in the Iraq war. The number killed since that supposedly triumphal moment on April 9 may double in this coming week, in a war that an American general now admits is ongoing.  The total number of American soldiers killed since the toppling of Saddam's statue is 93 by July 4, including the nine Americans killed in the bombing in Saudi Arabia. That makes a total of 196 dead so far, not including the six British soldiers killed last month. The media is being forced to recognize this reality, but continues to minimize the numbers. Using the definition "killed in hostile encounters" and May 1 as the date when President Bush declared the cessation of hostilities, the reported death toll is lowered to "about 24" Americans, according to the New York Times front-page spin based on figures from Paul Bremer III. (NYT, July 4). The official non-fatal casualty number acknowledged since May 1 is 177 Americans. Most of the dead and wounded are grunts, "low-ranking ground troops who are performing mundane activities like buying a video, going out on patrol, or guarding a trash pit." The manipulation of the American body count, like the earlier manipulation of the costs of war and occupation, only feeds the growing anger among military personnel and their families, as cited in the New York Times.... READ IT ALL AT: http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=16336 "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. 6:10:42 AM    comment

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