Help Keep Us Out of Iran

Dear MoveOn member,

By all accounts, the news coming out lately about Iran is scary. Iran is testing more missiles, and the Bush administration is promising swift retribution for any attack on the US or our allies.

To top it off, John McCain keeps joking about killing the Iranian people—discussing rising U.S. exports of cigarettes to Iran, he joked, "Maybe that's a way of killing them." And we all remember McCain's infamous, "Bomb Iran" song. (See video below)1

War is not a joke. The truth is that the Bush-McCain policy of reckless saber-rattling and threatening doesn't work—it just makes things worse and increases tensions in the region. What we need is serious, tough, and smart diplomacy—not another war.

Right now, Congress is considering bills that could clear the way for escalation or war. But they can act to make sure President Bush and John McCain don't lead us into another reckless war. Can you sign this petition asking Congress to push for diplomacy and demand Congressional authorization before getting us into another war? Clicking here will add your name:

http://pol.moveon.org/diplomacyiran/o.pl?id=13193-8552455-1.3QX4x&t=3

The petition reads: "Saber-rattling and threats towards Iran without diplomacy is not working. Please support a new direction towards Iran and demand President Bush get Congressional authorization before getting us into another war."

For years, the Bush administration's policy has been the same—tough talk and no real diplomacy. So far, that hasn't helped curtail Iran's apparent nuclear ambitions or advanced American interests.

Unfortunately, John McCain's belligerent comments only make matters worse—at a moment when the Persian Gulf is on the brink of war because of leaders who dehumanize and demonize folks on the other side, John McCain is offering more of the same old approach.

As NPR reported this morning, "McCain believes that the Bush administration's approach has been the right one."2

What we need right now from this administration, and from our next president, is serious diplomacy. As Barack Obama said, "The United States has to gather up others in the region, as well as internationally, to apply pressure on Iran. But it's very difficult for us to do so when we haven't shown a willingness to engage in the sort of direct negotiations with Iran that would give them carrots and sticks for a change in behavior."3

We don't need more saber-rattling, belligerent rhetoric or jokes about killing Iranians.

Too many lives—American, Israeli, and Iranian—are at stake. Please click here to tell Congress to help avoid another war:

http://pol.moveon.org/diplomacyiran/o.pl?id=13193-8552455-1.3QX4x&t=3

Thanks for all you do.

–Nita, Wes, Peter, Eli and the rest of the team

P.S. Check out Video of McCain's comments:


Sources:

1. "Bad Joke," Progressive Accountability, July 9, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=3918&id=13193-8552455-1.3QX4x&t=6

2. "Candidates Diverge On How To Handle Iran," NPR, July 10, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=3919&id=13193-8552455-1.3QX4x&t=7

3. "Iran Tests Missiles Able To Reach Israel." US News and World Report, July 10, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=3920&id=13193-8552455-1.3QX4x&t=8

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Welcome To The American Patriot Institute, Michael

Nothing seems more appropriate to me than welcoming a new Resident Scholar to the American Patriot Institute on Independence Day. So it is with great pleasure that I ask you to welcome Michael, of Pendragon's Hold, to our ranks.

Our little ragtag bunch has grown. What started out as a "Rogues Gallery" is becoming something of a minor force in the socio-political blogosphere. When Moderate Man took the Rogue's Gallery one step further, and founded the American Patriot Institute, it was more of an inside joke than anything-else. Why shouldn't we, he reasoned, who have served our nation and believe in the oath we swore to defend the Constitution of The United States of America, have an "umbrella organization" from which we could "issue papers" countering the propaganda of other "patriotic" organizations such as the American Enterprise Institute, and none has done so more effectively than the Moderate Man himself. (With the possible exception of Kitchen Window Woman, whose posts continue to amaze me.) Yet we all have something to contribute in our own way, and we all do. Whether it be Spadoman regaling us with details of "The Longest Walk" or the Ashland Peace Vigil, or Buffalo spinning a tale that takes us back to our lost youth, we have all continued to "fight" for the America we were once so proud to serve. We are all in accordance that the path this current Administration has chosen is terribly wrong for America and we are united in our efforts to change it for the better. While we don't always agree on all things, we do agree that we love our country and that our meager efforts to restore her to her once great glory is Patriotic and that by doing so, we are fulfilling the oaths we swore, (for some of us), so long ago.

Michael's voice will strengthen us. His writing is poignant and insightful. His dedication to our cause is clearly evident in his posts. His service in the United States Navy provides him with a perspective no chickenhawk can ever have.

Welcome aboard, Michael.

At some time in the near future, please post a your "baby picture" (boot graduation pic or any pic of you in uniform), for inclusion in the image map posted in the sidebar of many of our sites. Your pic will be included and will link directly to your site, These Thoughts Escape Me. You may copy and paste the Flag and Eagle logo of the API in your sidebar, as evidence of your membership. You may also copy the link-list to the other members from my site, (I believe I have the most recent list). Shortly, you will receive an invitation to post here with full admin rights. This site is a "we" thing, so feel free to add links, change the template, whatever. This site will only grow if we all water and feed it.

Once again, welcome. Welcome home, Brother.

d.

Michael posts at These Thoughts Escape Me.

Please update your API linklists to include Michaels' website.

Oh, and Happy Independence Day Brothers and Sisters! Let us continue our efforts to win our Independence from those who have abused our nation and it's Constitution!

Semper Fi!

Also posted at deuddersun says...

Thank You, from VoteVets.Org

Dear VoteVets.org Supporter,

Yesterday, I represented VoteVets.org at a press conference with leaders in the Senate, before the body passed the bipartisan GI Bill for the 21^st Century. It was an honor to be there, but I wasn’t just representing my fellow veterans, I was representing each and every one of you.

30,000 petition signatures. Tens of thousands of letters to Capitol Hill. Thousands and thousands of letters to the editor. Donations that allowed us to air national TV ads on the bill. That’s what you did to help pass this bill, in the name of VoteVets.org, and that’s why I was invited to stand with Senators as the bill was brought up for consideration.

More importantly, your work made passage of the bill a reality.

Now, the bill will go to the President’s desk, and he has signaled he will sign it. It wasn’t so long ago that the President had threatened to veto the legislation, with Senators like John McCain backing him up on that decision. The President’s reversal can also be attributed to just how much you worked to pass this bill. The President and those in his party know that there could be nothing more unpopular than vetoing increased education benefits for those who serve in war, in a time of war.

That’s why I want to thank you, from the bottom of my heart, on behalf of all Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. What you have done is make the American dream possible for so many of us. Many of us who couldn’t afford college will now be able to. We’ll go on to become doctors and lawyers and teachers, and have the chance to raise families in the American middle class. It was a promise made to us by Franklin Roosevelt, and your work has restored that promise.

You are truly patriots, in every sense of the word.

Sincerely,

Brian McGough

Iraq and Afghanistan War Veteran
VoteVets.org

PAID FOR BY VOTEVETS.ORG ACTION FUND
www.VoteVets.org

New Image Map Available

Thanks to scroff, of Any Which Way, the new image map for The API is now available. The new map includes the "baby pictures" of Chief and Cafkia. Simply click on the link below. The image map links each picture to that person's website and is undeniable proof that we are who we say we are, veterans of the Armed Forces of The United States of America dedicated to defending the Constitution of the United States of America, against ALL enemies, foreign and domestic.

Please update or post this in the sidebar of your website, if possible.



American Patriot Institute

Want this code?

Semper Fidelis,

d.

Dear VoteVets.org Supporter,

Yesterday, Senator Chuck Hagel sent a note to us, thanking us for our work to pass the Webb-Hagel GI Bill. I wanted to share it with you, because whatever VoteVets.org has accomplished, it was only because of your hard work and support. So, this note is for you:

Dear Jon and Friends,

As you know, the Webb-Hagel GI Bill passed both Houses of Congress with overwhelming bi-partisan support. The Senate's vote last week (75-22) was a big win for us. We could not have made this progress without your organization's strong support.

Thank you for your commitment and leadership in ensuring that we get this legislation passed and signed into law.

This effort is not over. I will continue to do all I can to see the Webb-Hagel GI Bill become a reality for America's deserving veterans. Thanks again to you and your colleagues for all your help. We're getting close!

Best wishes.

Regards,
Chuck Hagel

I think we all thank Senator Hagel back, for his leadership and commitment to speaking for our service members. It's something he wrote about very poignantly in his new book (which, incidentally, my mother just bought me for my birthday - it's a great gift!).

In "America: Our Next Chapter: Tough Questions, Straight Answers," Senator Hagel writes, "In my mind, patriotism is about asking the tough questions, not avoiding them. It is unpatriotic not to question a government's policies before the first life is lost. Of course I want our country to "win," but we must ask precisely what does "winning" mean and we need to ask that question before the first shot is fired. You can question and criticize my judgment-or any elected representative's judgment."

The name of the chapter that passage is from is "Who Speaks Up For The Rifleman?"

Thankfully, for us, Senator Hagel speaks up for the rifleman, and is one of the best friends that troops and veterans have ever had in Congress. And you all, for your hard work on the GI Bill and other issues, are some of the greatest friends and supporters that the troops and veterans have ever had in the American public.

Thanks for all of your support.

Sincerely,

Jon Soltz
Iraq War Veteran
Chairman, VoteVets.org

Thanks To You - It's Working!

Last week I asked you to sign a petition supporting the GI Bill for the 21st Century, and you did! Now more is needed. Please follow the links below and let's make sure McInsane's watered down Bill is defeated!

Thanks!

d.

Dear VoteVets.org Supporter,

Wow! Last week, we asked you to write to the Senate, urging them to support the bipartisan GI Bill for the 21st Century, and reject a watered down bill offered by John McCain, Lindsey Graham, and Richard Burr. You responded - with force - sending 16,000 letters to the Senate! Add that to the 30,000 petition signatures on the GI Bill that we took to the Hill, and op-eds around the country that our veterans have written on the GI Bill, and we are dominating efforts to get a new GI Bill passed.

Now it's time to take it to the next level, and get a letter to the editor in every daily newspaper in America!

CLICK HERE TO SEND A LETTER TO THE EDITOR ON THE GI BILL

Letters to the editor are the most read part of the paper, so when you submit a letter, it will be read by tens of thousands of your friends and neighbors. If we can get a letter to the editor in papers across the country, it's the strongest message we can send that we will not allow the Senate to cave on such important legislation for our veterans. With all of you - 95,000 people strong - blanketing newspapers with letters to the editor is a goal we can reach.

The stakes couldn't be higher. The bipartisan new GI Bill (S. 22) is poised to pass the Congress and go to the President. It will update GI Bill benefits to keep up with the cost of college, allowing those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan to get the higher education that we've promised our veterans since World War II. Senators McCain, Graham, and Burr, by introducing legislation that would cut the benefits in S. 22, are attempting to split the Senate, so nothing gets passed, and our veterans' service is not honored.

ANGRY? WRITE A LETTER TO THE EDITOR OF YOUR PAPER TO MAKE IT CLEAR!

Our Letter to the Editor tool is easy to use. Just plug in your zip code, use our talking points to write a quick letter, and hit send. That's it! In just a couple of days, your letter could be in the daily paper, read by thousands and thousands of people!

Please take a second, today, to take this quick action to help our veterans.

Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

Jon Soltz
Iraq War Veteran
Chairman, VoteVets.org

Nomination For Membership

Brothers and Sisters:

I received this e-mail today from a Retired Senior Chief Petty Officer, United States Navy, seeking admission into the API. Below the e-mail is a post written by Chief entitled Winning. I ask that you vote yes on this candidate.

Thank you,

d.

Dear Sir;

I have been posting for about nine months at Liberty Street http://libertystreet.wordpress.com/

at Kathy's invitation. I am a Senior Chief Petty Officer, United States Navy (Retired) who fervently believes that the U.S. Constitution is much more than a "piece of paper" and have been defending that same Constitution and it's ideals since I first enlisted in 1958.

I hope that I can be of value to the American Patriot Institute.

Chief

April 10, 2008

Winning

This is the last paragraph of “Out of Iraq” by George McGovern and William R. Polk published in 2006.

“Finally, all war is unpredictable and horrible. Our wise old statesman Benjamin Franklin once said, “There never was a good war.” But among wars, guerrilla wars are the worst; at beat they are unwinnable, lasting in Ireland for centuries and in Algeria for a century and a half. Chechens suffered massacre, deportation, rape and massive destruction at the hands of the Russians for nearly four centuries, and now incorporated into Russia, Chechnya still is not “pacified.” Aware of this history, the American neoconservative advisors to our government plan for (and indeed advocate) perpetual war. If they get their wish, then the final lesson of Iraq will emerge from the “fog of war.” It is that insurgency and counterinsurgency brutalize whole societies, even those of the victors. This was true of the British in Kenya, French in Algeria, Americans in the Philippines, Russians in Chechnya, and Chinese in Tibet. Hegel may be right - we may not learn; but certainly, we would be wise to heed the warning of Santayana not to “blot” the lessons of this costly adventure out of our minds. It has been our most expensive school.”

Winning. There are many different meanings for “winning” depending on who you are. For the average American, winning means to stay in Iraq as long as it takes to set up a society similar to the one we are used to here in the United States. The average American, who is not the least bit familiar with Iraqi history and Iraqi culture, thinks that that outcome is obtainable while we have over 100,000 troops in Iraq. It hasn’t occurred to that average American that as long as foreign troops are occupying the country it is fiction to believe the Iraqis will do anything but fight us.

Winning for the neo-cons means keep raising the patriot issue by calling anyone who suggests we find a way to withdraw, “cut ‘n run liberals.” Never mind that over 80% of the country thinks the country is heading in the wrong direction. Neo-cons will continue to demagogue and use their empty arguments about not withdrawing as a way to divide the electorate.

Winning for George W. Bush and his handlers is getting cheap access to Iraqi oil. Iraq has the largest reserves of oil in the mid-East. And it is sweet crude (low sulpher). Saudi has a lot of oil but is sour, high Sulpher. The Iraqi government has signed long term contracts with some major international oil companies at terms that are not real favorable to the Iraqi people.,

Once the United States troops leave, you can safely bet that the government that is installed after the civil war will not be the one that signed the contracts and the oil companies may be nationalized. No greater fear has an oilman than a government taking over their company, equipment and profits. This is really what Bush fears.

Chief

Update

So far Moderate, KWW, scroff and Spadoman have answered the invites and now have Admin rights. Since I will be gone all week, they can grant admin rights to whoever answers next. Just click on the settings tab then the permissions tab, (you can find the settings tab when you click on "new post".).

While I said earlier that this site should be all API, there may be room for posts like KWW did on Winter Soldier, or perhaps a weekly round up of topics related to API causes we all support. I don't know, what do you think?

Take care of each other. See you in a week.

d.

Help Wanted!

As soon as you get your invite and respond you will have Author's privileges. So far Moderate Man, Spadoman and deuddersun have full admin privileges. Once you have answered the invite, one of us can authorize you for full admin status. Once you have that, well....

We are building something here and it needs a lot of work. A counter would be cool, one that tracks visitors and logs IP's, so long as it's free. At this point, why spend money on things we can get for free? A link list to other relevant sites would also be great - Vet's sites in particular are important, especially those that deal with the Fiasco in Iraq (IAVA, VVAW, etc) and sites that offer aid to Veterans. It's your blog, what do you think we need here?

While we all maintain our own separate and distinct personalities on our own sites, this site is our "Band of The Hand", where we work together to achieve our mutual goals. So dig in!! This is our collective public "face", so grab yer make-up crayon (sorry Ladies) and get busy!

d.