Thank You and One Final Sign Waving

I got this wonderful email from a friend I met through a Ron Paul meet up group in Virginia. This seems to capture the sentiment of a lot of us in the "Freedom Movement" as I have heard it called, or those of us who proudly call ourselves part of the "Ron Paul Revolution." So for all of you who thought we might go away after this election and were breathing a sigh of relief because McCain has all but locked up the nomination, think again. You cannot stop freedom.

-

I can only speak for myself and echo the words of so many with whom I have
spoken. Failure to get the party nomination for Ron Paul does not end it for
me. I've been called delusional for supporting Ron Paul. I would be delusional
to think that our movement ends with Dr. Paul not being elected as president
or that we would be able to reset this country over night. I've been honored
to meet and get to know so many good hearted people, true patriots, who I am
honored to know and stand with against corruption and oppression. We have
accomplished so much in so little time. Because I know you're still there, you
know who you are, and willing to continue the fight so stand I here with you.
I'm not quitting, sitting down or shutting up. I continue daily to educate
myself, friends and family. I continue to take action when and where I can. I
continue to believe that someday, hopefully in my life time, that we will once
again enjoy the freedom, liberty and way of life that made this country the
envy of the world, a safe haven for an ideal to emulate and a true source of
individual pride when one say's, "I am an American." Thank you all for being
there and letting me know that I am not alone.

semper vigilance,

Bill

A Chance Encounter With GOE National Director for Operations Chris Hill, An Apology, and a Challenge

On my way to a speaking engagement at Wesleyan yesterday, I ran into Chris Hill. I was at Union Station in DC when he approached me, got in my face, and asked me if I wanted to hit him. “Remember, ‘heaven help this guy.’ This is your chance. Take your best shot.” Of course, I had no intent to physically harm him, but he was very angry about the story that I reposted on this blog about him. I repeatedly asked him why he was so angry, and he started to calm down.

He explained to me that after the incident on September 15th of last year and the allegations that he had beat up gold star father Carlos Arredondo, he had received numerous threats, including one against his three-year-old daughter. I won’t get into the details of the event that day, but he claims that when Carlos was surrounded by members of GOE, he was trying to help him and that Carlos later thanked him. I have not been able to confirm or disprove this and there is no clear evidence to show that’s what he was doing. There are only the photos that show he was there and various conflicting accounts of what happened. However, the version of events that I posted here accused him of harming Carlos. He believes that this has contributed to some of his personal harassment. I have apologized to him personally, and would like to publicly apologize now for using unnecessarily inflammatory language.

I have also received death threats for my activism, and can relate to what he has experienced. The people that do this, for whatever reason, are usually mentally disturbed. There are certain things that those of us in the public debate say that can trigger them, and the language that I used may have done so. I hope that everyone who may read this realizes that things said in the public arena can have repercussions in private lives, and for those of us that have any kind of platform, we need to take this seriously.

It turned out that Chris and I were on the same train, and so when the call for final boarding came, we walked and talked our way through the gate and onto the platform. He was still quite agitated at this point, but when there was no one else on the platform, I suggested we board before we get left behind. We ended up talking in the aisle by the bathroom on the train for the next hour.

It turns out that Chris Hill and I have a lot in common. We both believe that Americans in general don’t have nearly enough of an idea of what goes on in Iraq to appreciate what our troops are going through. We both believe that going into Iraq was a mistake. We both believe that the war has been grossly mismanaged. We both believe this country needs to do a better job of taking care of veterans. Surprisingly, we both consider ourselves libertarian. (At least with a little “L.”) Chris also describes himself as “socially liberal,” and told me about how he actively supports pro-choice causes.

We talked a lot about Winter Soldier, and although he wants veterans to tell their stories, he kept saying, “I disagree with your tactics.” He asked if he could attend Winter Soldier along with Pete Hegseth, the ED of Veterans For Freedom and I told him that we would at least consider it. There may be a lot to be said for inviting the most scrutinizing eyes possible to hear the testimony. We are putting so much effort into our verification process, that I know we will all be proud to stand behind the veracity of the testimony.

Now, he described himself as libertarian, but only as a framework. I am a libertarian not as a framework, but rather as a matter of principle. The fundamental principle of libertarianism is the non-initiation of the use of force, or as it says on the back of my Libertarian Party lifetime membership card, “Statement of Principles - We hold that all individuals have the right to exercise sole dominion over their own lives, and have the right to live in whatever manner they choose, so long as they do not forcibly interfere with the equal right of others to live in whatever manner they choose.”

Because Chris’s political views are not grounded in principle, they are subject to circumstance. By contrast, I extend the principles of liberty into a foreign policy of free trade, and non-intervention. In regards to why we need to stay in Iraq, he repeatedly referenced 9/11. Chris is not stupid, and made it clear that he understands there is no direct link between 9/11 and Iraq, “but 9/11 changed things.” Tragically, he’s right. 9/11 gave our “leadership” a chance to change things by exploiting the fear it caused in average Americans.

Before 9/11, we knew how the world was growing smaller and how technology changed the threat of terrorism. Suicide “bombers” hijacking airplanes to use as missiles could have happened decades ago. 19 guys with box cutters do not by themselves justify an entire reorientation of our foreign policy to justify a preemptive strike doctrine. Chris believes they do. His theory of the manipulation of the intelligence process that led us to believe in the big yellow cake lie is that a few eager to please hacks at the CIA made a mistake. Knowing Cheney’s involvement in the process, that’s hard to believe.

He thinks that the war has been mismanaged, but now has faith in “the surge” and General Petraeus. I had to point out that “THE surge” is really the third or fourth surge, it’s just the first to be advertised as “the surge.” He agreed, but believes that the change in tactics is significant enough to give it a chance, and that “winning” is the important thing. I have a bad feeling that if we stay in Iraq for a hundred years as McCain suggests, there will be a new strategy every two years, and there will always be people saying, “but this time the new strategy is going to work.”

This is how people in abusive relationships view their partners. “I know he hurts me, but he really loves me.” “I know he’s lied in the past, but this time it feels like he’s telling the truth.” “We’ve been through so much, I have to give him one more chance.” The American people seem to be behaving a lot like the kind of person who goes from one abusive relationship to another, always desperate to believe what we are being told, always hoping for something better, and even now, after realizing how bad Bush has been for us, we look to the next leader, hoping things will be better. But until we change, the leadership won’t. Despite repeatedly being lied to, most of us so desperately want to believe our government.

While Chris is generally a good guy, an assertive one no doubt, and a proud veteran who has served honorably, he seems to represent a tragic part of today’s American psyche. We were attacked, and we are afraid. We have been lied to, but we want to believe. We know how we are being screwed, but we let it continue. We know that people are dying every day in Iraq, and we can’t stop talking about Heath Leger. We know that torture is being done in our name and we go back to watching TV.

Towards the end of the conversation, I asked Chris, “So with all of our common beliefs and shared objectives, where does this conversation leave us? What can we do to work together to achieve our shared objectives?” That was when he challenged me to a boxing match. I thought he was joking, but we tossed the idea around a bit and decided that we could do it as a fundraiser for a charity we both support like the Disabled American Veterans or Homes For Our Troops. Someone I mentioned the idea to said, “Why don’t you just have a debate?” “Because no one would come.” At least not nearly as many as would come to see “the anti-war movement” versus “the pro-war movement” duke it out in a boxing ring. And this way we could sell tickets and actually raise some serious money for a good cause. Of course for fairness’s sake, we would have to find a charity that would host it, so that neither of our organizations have anything to do with putting the event together. Given that, Chris, I officially accept your challenge. Let’s do it for our shared American values.

Why I Must Testify

These truly are times that try men’s souls. There are too many veterans returning from futile occupations with heads full of lies and hearts full of sorrow. Minds full of bad memories and bodies full of shrapnel. Fists full of anger and families full of confusion. It’s not a strong place from which to make yourself politically relevant. But out of a strong sense of duty, some of us are trying to put our experiences to use for a good cause. Some of us couldn’t live with ourselves if we weren’t doing everything we could to bring our brothers and sisters home as soon as possible.

The environment may be unkind, but that is why I will be testifying and that is why it will be necessary. I will be testifying to shooting at civilians as a result of changing Rules Of Engagement, abuse of detainees, and desecration of Iraqi bodies. It won’t be easy but it must be done. Some of the stories are things that are difficult to admit that I was a part of, but if one more veteran realizes that they are not alone because of my testimony it will be worth it.

This Video Needs To Get Around (tell your friends about it)

An Interview I Did Yesterday With "Russia Today"

Jonathan de Wald on GOE

The Gagglefuck of Pigeons has recently decided on a new flag, but Jonathan de Wald's parody below is much more apt. I'm not sure what "NEVER AGAIN" refers to. But I have some ideas:
"Never again will we think before we yell obscenities."
"Never again will we be seen in public without making asses of ourselves."
"Never again will we respect anti-war veterans' freedom of speech."
"Never again will we question any of Bush's lies." Oh wait. Nevermind. That never happened to begin with.

This is the new GOE flag:
Jonathan de Wald's version:

Sorry State of the Union

Last night I went to a State of the Union watching party at the CodePink house. And I would not want to have been watching it anywhere else. I think if I were at home by myself I would have listened to it while doing something else or not paid attention at all, but the lively crowd with which I shared the fulfillment of my very low expectations was a blast! At one point it even devolved into throwing cheetos at the screen.

While the speech had no surprises and nothing to redeem itself even on its rhetorical merits, there was on line that caught my attention: “Over the past seven years, we have increased funding for veterans by more than 95 percent.” That sounds great. But think about for a second: How many veterans were we making seven years ago? How many vets with PTSD? TBI? DU poisoning? Missing limbs? I think those numbers may have increased by over a thousand-fold. Unless able to spin it in this context, the proponents of the war will do everything to hide its costs.

His view of what he and Congress would be able to achieve in terms of economic stimulation was disturbingly optimistic. I think we’ve been in a recession for some time now and thanks to the absurd spin this administration has put on every piece of bad economic news, we’ve been in denial about it. You can only be in denial of a recession for so long before it becomes a full-blown depression. But these days, those are referred to as the “r word” and the “d word.” All this not to mention the impending currency collapse. So here are some funny cartoons to distract you from the fact that our beloved America is going down the toilet.

Two Videos I Just Have to Share

Wise Words From IVAW Executive Director Kelly Dougherty

One year from now
As we enter 2008, please stop for a moment and consider where we are now, and where we are going. In just over a year, America will have a new President. We will have endured a year of campaign commercials and attack ads. We'll have watched debates devoid of any real discussion of the withdrawal from Iraq that a growing number of Americans now call for. We'll have waited, for yet another year, for our leaders to find a way to say what we know in our hearts: we must leave Iraq.
But what will have changed in the next year that will make that happen?
We must face this fact: we run the serious risk that one year from today we'll be right where we are now, but with another year's worth of casualties, a year’s worth of grieving families, a year's worth of Iraqi anger and suffering built on our occupation of a country we now know was no threat to us. Ending this war in a year is different than ending it now, just as ending it now is different than ending it a year ago, or a year before that. There is a price to pay for every day that we wait.
As a veteran who served in Iraq as a military police sergeant, I see our continued occupation of that country as more than simply a list of numbers. On daily patrols through Baghdad and other cities, your glance darts from one window to the next and you look with suspicion at everyone you pass, waiting to be attacked. Every time you drive, you anxiously scan the roadways and gutters, anticipating the explosion of a roadside bomb that will send burning shards of metal through both vehicles and flesh. Indiscriminate home raids at all hours of the day and night become a common experience, as do the mass detentions of terrified and angry Iraqis. You spend hours at checkpoints, with your finger on the trigger, prepared to make life and death decisions in a country where the line between civilians and combatants is blurred and in constant motion. These things take a toll, on our soldiers, their families, and the Iraqi people.
As members of Iraq Veterans Against the War, we know these things and many of us still face them on a daily basis. Despite what you see on TV, or read in the paper, this is daily life in Iraq.
A year from now, will we have moved any closer to withdrawal? Or will our leaders continue to push such a decision off into the future, where, like so many decisions made by the powerful, the price to be paid rests squarely on the shoulders of the next generation?
We are at a crossroads: we can focus our energy exclusively on an election in which no viable candidate is committed to rapid withdrawal, or we can spend the next year ensuring that whoever takes office, Republican or Democrat, will face a country mobilized to the cause of bringing our troops home.
The veterans and active duty troops of Iraq Veterans Against the War represent the generation that is living with the pain and consequences of our leaders’ daily decision to continue this war. We have watched our closest friends be killed and injured, we’ve seen innocent people dehumanized and destroyed. We are first-hand witnesses and participants of an illegal war and occupation and we are here to tell you that we have had enough.
We have come together, as members of Iraq Veterans Against the War, with this message: It is time to put this awful chapter of our history behind us. It is time to do the right thing for the people of Iraq and the people of America. It is time.
We've been here before. In the aftermath of the 2006 elections, the analysts said it plainly: the issue that had brought the Democrats to power was opposition to the war. Hundreds of thousands of people worked phone banks, canvassed their neighbors, made signs, and raised money for that election cycle, but it was not enough to end the war. Why not? The political leadership and the pundits have settled on the excuse that the Democrats don't have enough power in Congress to get it done. But we think it is something else - we have failed to force our leaders into action.
This is not a unique situation in history. Looking back on successful movements, what is the common denominator? Has real change occurred when people relied on politicians to do the right thing, or when a movement of people used their strength to move this country forward?
We propose the second path - organizing Americans to move our leaders to do what must be done. Iraq Veterans Against the War has spent the last year devising a strategy and tactics to bring our troops home. Our plans are not contingent on a particular candidate, or a party, because we're not willing to roll the political dice on something as important as this.
Our strategy is simple: organize the men and women of our armed forces to withdraw their support for the war. Our reason for choosing this strategy is also simple: without the active support of military service members, this war cannot continue. The government has shown that no matter which lever people pull on Election day, they can continue, and even escalate, the war. But without people to drive the trucks, to man the checkpoints, and to go out on nightly raids, no war is possible. Of course, we don't expect to be able to convince the entirety of our armed forces to go on strike, but what percentage of soldiers would need to stand up against this war before our leaders decide that they cannot continue? One percent? Five? We aim to find out.
We're drawing the line, and we're asking you to join us. All over the country, veterans and members of the military are organizing chapters of Iraq Veterans Against the War in cities, in rural areas, and on military bases. Last year at this time, we had eight chapters. Today, we have 37, with more forming all the time. We need your help to support those who are doing this important work on the ground.
We know what our brothers and sisters are going through in Iraq, and we're putting plans in motion to put an end to it. Not a year from now. Not next month. Today.
Peace,Kelly DoughertyFormer Sergeant, Army National GuardExecutive DirectorIraq Veterans Against the War

SUPPORT THE TROOPS - GIVE BLOOD!

Today I decided to do something for the troops. Today, my “support” for the troops was undeniably manifest. Today, with one simple act, I lived the change I want to see in the world. Today, I went to Walter Reed Army Medical Center and gave blood for the troops.

A fellow champion of peace and justice and good friend of mine, Mike Marceau was the inspiration for this mission today. Mike is a disabled Vietnam vet, whose life may have been saved by a blood transfusion when a piece of shrapnel pierced his lung, bounced off his rib and lodged in his left shoulder, severely damaging his nerves and arteries when his base in Pleiku was attacked in the spring of 1970.

Mike is the Vice President of the local Veterans For Peace chapter and regularly gives blood at Walter Reed. He attends the weekly vigil at Walter Reed to “remind people that the true cost of the war is right inside that building.” When he came back from Vietnam, Mike himself did a stint at Walter Reed before being medically discharged. I joined Mike to give blood today because I felt it was the right thing to do.

It just so happened that one of the lab techs who was drawing blood recognized me from when I was on TV. He thanked me for what Iraq Veterans Against the War is doing and the perspective we bring to debate about the war. One of his buddies claimed to be “apolitical,” but after the lab tech asked for a business card, he said, “Maybe you could give me a few. You know – for some friends of mine.”

As we were leaving, it occurred to me that “apolitical” is exactly how the war makers want the troops to be. But politics is the sum of civic interactions. Politics is life . . . and death. Being apolitical means ceding your God-given right to self-determination. Just as “being political” and participating in democracy are among our civic duties as American citizens, showing compassion is a duty of all who dream of a world of peace, tolerance, and understanding.

If you can see that humanity is capable of rendering war obsolete, you must feel the need for people to rise above petty self-interests, and reach out to each other. This is just one more way that we can show our appreciation for those who are serving with honorable intentions, for those who would risk their lives to defend our rights, for those who have made themselves ready to make the ultimate sacrifice in defense of their fellow countrymen.

Perhaps eventually, Americans will never be asked to give blood for our wounded warriors ever again. Maybe someday, the sanctity of human life will be so paramount that Walter Reed itself will be unnecessary. Until that day comes, you can show your respect for life by giving blood to the troops that need it now.

If you share this vision with me, go to the Armed Services Blood Program website to find your closest donor center and make an appointment. While you’re donating, tell the people why you’re there. Get a photo of yourself giving blood and send it to me (adam@ivaw.org) with your reason for donating so that we can share this vision with the rest of the world.

There are still troops bleeding every day, and they need our support.