Monday, February 23, 2004

Steal Nader's Issues FEATURED ARTICLES - Kerry Sends Letter Challenging President to Debate on War - The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer... Doctor's Life, Mission in Haiti, npr.org - Will Nader matter at all? by John Nichols, The Nation QUOTE OF THE DAY "If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom, & yet deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground. They want rain without thunder & lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did & it never will." - - Frederick  Douglass (1818-1895) http://www.frederickdouglass.org/douglass_bio.html KNOW YOUR HISTORY - FEBRUARY 23rd 1971 --  Lt. William Calley confesses he directed a mass execution of South Vietnamese civilians at My Lai & implicates his commanding officer, Capt. Ernest L. Medina, who he says issued the orders to murder. He got his wrists slapped & was sent home. http://www.fortunecity.com/tinpan/parton/2/mylai1.html RHINO HERE: Watching Ralph Nader declare his candidacy yesterday on "Meet The Press",  I listened carefully to hear what I would with him on.  I had a hard time. He spoke eloquently & passionately about many of my concerns; issues which are rarely mentioned on the tri-letters. He even advocated impeachment of the shrub for taking the US to war based on lies. The question is, will his independent presidential campaign have a detrimental effect on goal one for so many of us; getting the shrub gang out of La Casa Blanca. In today's RHINO'S BOTTOM LINE, The Nation magazine's John Nichols explores the possibilities, based on other independent candidacies in U.S. history. Yesterday's "Meet The Press" transcripts are posted at: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4304155/ In response to Republican attacks on John Kerry's record of both fighting & protesting the war in Viet Nam, the Senator has issued a challenge to the shrub, "to debate the Vietnam era, and the impact of our experiences on our approaches to presidential leadership." Rhino sez, you go Senator John!"  I wanna see that debate. Kerry Sends Letter Challenging President to Debate on War Dear President Bush, Over the last week, you and your campaign have initiated a widespread attack on my service in Vietnam, my decision to speak out to end that war, and my commitment to the defense of this nation. Just today, Saxby Chambliss-- a man elected to the US Senate on the back of one of the most despicable campaigns ever conducted against Max Cleland, a true American Hero-- was carrying this attack for you. As you well know, Vietnam was a very difficult and painful period in our nation's history, and the struggle for our veterans continues. So, it has been hard to believe that you would choose to re-open these wounds for your personal political gain. But, that is what you have chosen to do. I am fighting to become the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party. Even before Democrats make their choice, you've launched a campaign of attacks against me. I am determined to run a campaign on the great challenges facing this country-- from creating jobs, to solving our health care crisis to getting our nation's ballooning deficit under control. But I will not sit back and allow my patriotism to be challenged. America deserves a better debate. If you want to debate the Vietnam era, and the impact of our experiences on our approaches to presidential leadership, I am prepared to do so. This is not a debate to be distorted through your $100 million dollar campaign fund. This is a debate that should be conducted face to face. Mr. President, I hope you will conduct a campaign worthy of this nation's future. Sincerely,    John Kerry POSTED AT: http://johnkerry.com/pressroom/releases/pr_2004_0221d.html With the current upheaval in Haiti causing many of us to wonder what may be going on behind the headlines, multifaceted activist & Rhino's Blog reader, Tomas Heikkala offers some suggested research. For more on Thomas' work educating America's youth on the possibilities of conscientious objector registration, go to: The PeaceRoots Alliance Registry of Conscientious Objectors http://www.peaceroots.org/co.htm#tomas Hi All,   If anyone is interested in Haiti and all the news about it, I would suggest looking up Dr. Paul Farmer on a web search. Paul is a well know Harvard Doc and a humanitarian who has worked in Haiti for years. He has written several books including one I read called The Uses of Haiti which is a historical perspective up to the near present. In it you will understand that this country was the first in the western hemisphere to be exploited for its resources by the Europeans. Bangladesh also shares this history as the first country to be exploited in that hemisphere. Both countries have suffered incredible devastation because of it. Dr. Farmer also points out the unrelenting racism and lies perpetrated by the US and Europe to further their exploits that continues today. He notes that Haitians, though they are very poor, know who is responsible for what has happened to them over the centuries. For the most part what we get are bogus images of a land ruled by superstition & voodoo with a president who has mental problems. Today, those "mysterious" forces that control American media and the US Congress once again are after Haiti & Pres. Aristide.  I would suggest doing some research before relying on the media for anything but a twisted story in regards to Haiti. There are many sources to follow. Here is one to start with.  regards,  Tomas Heikkala The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer New Book Tells of an American Doctor's Life, Mission in Haiti http://www.npr.org/display_pages/features/feature_1472188.html 7:45:56 AM    comment

RHINO'S BOTTOM LINE - Will Nader matter at all? Will Nader matter at all? by John Nichols, The Nation, 02/22/2004 The best-case scenario for Ralph Nader's fourth presidential campaign -- a 1992 write-in effort in the New Hampshire primary, Green Party runs in 1996 and 2000, and the independent candidacy he announced on Sunday -- is to pull a Norman Thomas. In the Great Depression election of 1932, Democrats worried that Thomas, the perennial Socialist Party candidate, would draw off votes in key states and help reelect Republican President Herbert Hoover. When the ballots were counted, however, Democrat Franklin Roosevelt defeated Hoover in all but six states and was swept into the White House. At the same time, Thomas won close to 900,000 votes nationwide, and in many state his backers provided a cushion of votes for Democrats who swept local, state and congressional races. Thomas was invited to the White House, treated with respect on Capitol Hill and credited with providing the inspiration for important elements of Roosevelt's New Deal. The worst-case scenario for Nader's 2004 campaign is the James Birney circumstance. Birney, a prominent attorney who served as secretary of the American Anti-Slavery Society, sought the presidency in 1840 and again in 1844 as the candidate of the abolitionist Liberty Party. Birney's second run for the presidency secured only 62,103 votes, out of 2.7 million cast nationwide. But Birney took away enough votes in key states such as New York from Whig Henry Clay, a more cautious critic of the expansion of slavery, to tip the election to Democrat James K. Polk, who campaigned on a promise to annex Texas as a slave state. Polk quickly did just that, and then ordered the invasion of Mexico. Until his death in 1857, Birney, the passionate abolitionist, was blamed for giving pro-slavery forces an upper hand at a critical stage in American politics. Somewhere between those best- and worst-case scenarios lies the likely scenario for Nader this year. It is far less dramatic. Indeed, the most likely scenario for Nader in 2004 is that he will not matter much... MUCH MORE AT: Will Nader Matter? "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 6:34:59 AM    comment

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