Tuesday, October 28, 2003

Wellstone Remembered QUOTE OF THE DAY "I'm talking about how we can strive for, have the vision for, and work for a world where you do not have so many governments armed to the hilt and where we do something about the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. I'm the father of three children and six grandchildren and I think that should be the primary goal of foreign policy." - - Senator Paul Wellstone KNOW YOUR HISTORY - OCTOBER 28th 1970 -- US Senator James William Fulbright, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, accuses the tricky Nixon administration of conducting an illegal war in Laos without congressional knowledge or approval. For several years, US planes were engaged in an extensive bombing campaign of suspected Communist territory in Laos, including the Ho Chi Minh trail, where supplies moved from North Vietnam to forces in Laos & South Vietnam. In 1965, the CIA set up a charter airline code-named Air America, to assist Laos' anti-Communist drug lords by transporting raw opium for sale outside of Indochina. In 1970, despite congressional criticism, the US stepped up its bombing of eastern Laos & its military aid to Laos' anti-Communist factions. See Al McCoy's "The Politics of Heroin in SE Asia", the best book on the subject. RHINO HERE: Regarding this weekend's "Know Your History," I failed to cite that one year ago, October 25th, Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone, his wife Sheila, their daughter & members of his staff, died in an as yet to be reasonably investigated plane crash. On Saturday, friends of the Wellstones and the other victims gathered to honor their memory at the crash site, near what is now the St. Louis County Wellstone Historic Site. The event was as much about the future as the past, with participants promising to carry forward the causes championed by Wellstone. More on the memorial at: http://apnews1.iwon.com/article/20031026/D7UDJ9M00.html For info on Camp Wellstone progressive training sessions, and related advocacy campaigns, policy research, event announcements, links to progressive organizations, etc. etc... Visit the WELLSTONE ACTION website at:    http://www.wellstone.org Carry It Forward is a film documentary in progress about the Wellstones, being funded by small neighborhood house parties around Minnesota. The release will be timed to inspire high voter turn out in the 2004 election. http://www.carryitforward.org The Sheila Wellstone Institute on Violence Prevention Policy, a program of Wellstone Action, has been created by a broad coalition of domestic violence organizations. The institute will hold its 1stt national conference in Minneapolis, Nov. 13, with Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, a leader in efforts to end domestic violence in America, as the keynote speaker.   http://www.wellstone.org/action/programs_swi.aspx 7:49:09 AM    comment

RHINO'S BOTTOM LINE - The Depth of This Loss Multitude of Ways to Measure the Depth of This Loss by Susan Lenfestey, Minneapolis Star Tribune , 10/26/03 "He's dead, get over it!" reads the bumper sticker seen around town in the state that once inspired the term "Minnesota Nice." The "he," of course, is Sen. Paul Wellstone, who died with his wife, daughter and colleagues in a fiery crash in the tamarack bogs of northern Minnesota one year ago this weekend. Those who sport that withering sentiment, on their bumpers or in their hearts, don't deserve a further thought. But those who lost their lives do. We remember them, we mourn them -- and we know all too well that they are dead. Veterans know it, from the absence of any voice in the Senate to question the shoddy treatment of our armed forces -- those serving heroically yet indefinitely in Iraq, those lying injured in substandard medical barracks back home, those facing pay cuts and reduced benefits for their sacrifices, those being buried at services their commander in chief has chosen not to attend. Working people know it, when they see their benefits cut, their pay frozen, their pension funds depleted and their opportunities dead-ended by the loss of nearly 3 million jobs since President Bush took office. Teachers know it, as they grapple with overcrowded classrooms, rigid and unfunded mandates and slashed "extras" like art, music and gym. Families know it, when they suffer financial catastrophe because the insurance industry won't cover treatment for their mentally ill children. Women and children know it, when they find that the programs that once offered them health and safety from domestic violence -- programs for which Paul and Sheila fought -- are no longer funded. Voters know it, as they watch presidential contenders quibble over who did or didn't oppose the war in Iraq, as Paul did with his courageous "no" vote in the final days of his toughest campaign.  Old-school Republicans -- and just about everyone else -- know it, when only a few bubbles of dissent swirl in the wake of a proposal to spend $87 billion more for a vague and bloated nation-building scheme in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Seniors, farmers, environmentalists, immigrants, firefighters, parole officers, nurses and parents know it -- as do, most of all, the surviving families of those who died.  But tragedy often begets action... READ THE REST AT: http://www.commondreams.org/views03/1027-04.htm "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. Tell a friend about Rhino's Blog 6:40:05 AM    comment

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